It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from a wide area of Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran (the mountainous parts of Pakistan), Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Tibet and China.

[6][7][9] The single coloured standards are also oblanceolate, erect, 4.5–5 cm (2–2 in) long and 7–8 mm wide.

[3] It has short style branches, 4 cm long and 8 mm wide, in similar shades as the standards.

[9] It is written as 天山鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as tian shan yuan wei in China.

[10][23] The Latin specific epithet loczyi honors 'Lajos Lóczy' (1849–1920) the Hungarian geologist and geographer,[24][25] who participated in Count Béla Széchenyi's (the son of István Széchenyi) 1877–1880 expedition to Central Asia, western China, Japan, India, Japan, Java and Borneo.

[27] Iris loczyi is native to a wide region, of various temperate areas of Asia.

[18] It is found in the western Asia countries of Afghanistan and Iran,[3][4][9] including the Caucasus regions of Pamir Mountains, Tien Shan (within Kometydavan Ravine and Se-chai River[5]) and Baluchistan (the mountainous parts of Pakistan and Iran).

[28] It is found in China,[2][9][6] within the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai Sichuan, Xinjiang and Xizang.

[3][12][18] It is found growing on high mountain grasslands,[4][9][5] (or steppes)[6] and sunny hillsides.

[29] It is listed in the IUCN 'Red Book' of the Republic of Tuva as a species at vulnerable status.

[21] It was mentioned in (under the name Iris tianschanica) in Czerepano's 'Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (the Former USSR)' in 1995.

Although the plants were not eaten by cattle, destruction of the habitat is the major factor in limiting its range.

[8] Iris loczyi is not common in cultivation in the UK,[2] Europe,[9][12] or Russia.

[12] It prefers to be kept dry during the winter, needing the protection of bulb frames (in the UK).