[5][8] It blooms between April and May,[3] and has small flowers,[3] that have a range of colour variations,[5] that come in shades from cream or whitish ground color,[3][6][2] lemon yellow to creamy straw-yellow ground colours.

[5][8] It is similar in form to Iris sari,[4] which does not grow in Iran and does not have folded falls.

[3][5] They have a large chestnut-maroon-black,[5] or dark brown[6] or purplish signal patch in the centre of the petal.

[4][2] The Latin specific epithet meda refers to Media (a region of Persia).

[10] It was first found in Persia,[6] and then described and published by Austrian born botanist Otto Stapf in Denkschr.

[5] It grows on either stony clay,[5] or sandy or gravelly soils,[3] of dry hills,[3] desert mountains,[4] and Kurdish steppes.

[16] Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (including rhizome and leaves), and if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting.

Handling the plant may cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction.