[8][9][3] The stems bear two to three flowers,[3][7][10] at the terminal ends in early summer,[4][10][11] between May and July.

[4] The flowers come in a range of reddish-purple shades,[10][12][11] from blue to blue-purple, red-violet, with a rare white variants.

The large obovate (shaped like an egg), drooping 'falls' have reddish-purple veins on a white or yellowish signal.

[14] As most irises are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes, this can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings.

[19][20] It was originally published as Iris orientalis by Thunberg in Transactions of the Linnean Society Vol.

[12] It was first published as Iris sanguinea, described by Jens Wilken Hornemann in Hortus Regius Botanicus Hafniensis (In Usum Tyronum et Botanophilorum.

[22] This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

[18] It is found between Russia (East of Lake Baikal in Siberia,[9][13] Buryatia, Chita, Irkutsk, Amur, Khabarovsk, Magadan and Primorye),[18] Mongolia, China (provinces of Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning and Nei Monggol),[3][18] Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu and Shikoku) and Korea.

[5] The iris should be grown in well-drained,[23][10] neutral to slightly acidic soils (the pH level should be more than 5.6) with plenty of organic matter,[11][19] or loam.

[10] It prefers positions in full sun,[23][11] but can tolerate partial shade (with some hours of sunlight).

[10] The plant needs moisture during the growing season (in spring and early summer) to create the best blooms.

[11] The divisions must be not be allowed to dry out and can be temporarily stored in bucket of water, while the new planting position is prepared.

Then break open to collect seeds and the direct sow outdoors in fall or autumn.

[10][11][19][20] The seed should germinate within three months, if they have been pre-chilled for four weeks or placed outdoors over winter.

Once germinated they should be brought indoors (or place in a cold frame[20]) to avoid temperature shock and then transplant outside, when the plant has four leaves.

; Orientalis Alba Stellata'; 'Sanguinea 1615'; 'Sanguinea 1616'; 'Snowcrest'; 'Snow Queen';[23] 'Sorak Blue'; 'Tetrapetala'; 'Trigonocarpa'; 'Yankee Trader'; 'Yixingensis';[12] As in many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous or toxic (rhizome and leaves); if mistakenly ingested, it can cause stomach pains and vomiting.