[6] Underneath the rhizome are numerous fleshy, secondary roots,[3] which are between 3 and 4 mm wide.

[3][4][6] The stem has 2[10] yellow-green (scarious) membranous spathes (leaves of the flower bud).

[3][4][5] The flowers are 3.5–5 cm (1–2 in) in diameter,[3][5][6] come in shades of violet,[3][5] dark blue,[5][13][17] blue-purple,[9][10][11] dark purple,[12] mauve,[2][18] lilac,[2][13] lavender,[5][14][17] or light purple.

[4][6] After the iris has flowered, between June and July,[9] or up to August,[4][6] it produces an ovoid,[4][6] or fusiform (spindle shaped),[9][12] seed capsule.

[3][4][6] Inside the capsule are roundish[3] or pear shaped (pyriform) seeds.

[4][6] In 2003, a study was carried out on the chromosome sequencing of various Irises from the Siberian region of central Asia.

[20] In 2011, a chromosome and karyotype analysis study was carried out on the rhizomes of Iris tigridia.

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

[2][16] It is written as 粗根鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as cu gen yuan wei in Pidgin.

[28][29][30] It was then published by Ledebour in 'Icones Plantarum novarum vel imperfecte cognitarum Floram rossicam' (Icon.

342. in 1830 (or 1833,[6]) with a colour illustration,[2] then by Karl Maximovich in the 'Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences St Petersburg' (Bull.

[17][22][31] It is endemic to the north-east Asia,[12] from the Altai mountain range and Siberia to Manchuria in China.

[11][15][30] It is found in Russia,[6][14][16] within the Russian states of Aga-Buryat, Buryatia,[9] Chita,[9] Chukchi, Gorno-Altay, Irkutsk, Magadan, Tuva,[7][9][12] and Yakutia (Sakha).

[4][5][22] It is also found in China,[9][14][16] within the provinces of Gansu, Heilongjiang,[6] Jilin,[6] Liaoning,[6] Nei Monggol,[6] Qinghai, Shanxi,[6] and Sichuan.

[35] It grows in (rocky or gravelly) screes,[7][9][36] on the dry hillsides (or slopes),[7][8][12] in dunes,[31] in sandy meadows or grasslands,[6][10][31] in steppes,[8][9][36] and beside forest margins.

[24] It is found in Dauria and Sokhondinsky State Biosphere Reserve (in Chita).

[38] In non-hardy areas, it can be grown in an alpine house or bulb frame[15] due to the fact that the plant needs to be protected from winter moisture.

[7] Several cultivars have been introduced including; All four cultivars are between 12 cm and 14 cm tall, flower between April and May, are hardy, drought tolerant and salt tolerant.

fortis (Y. T. Zhao) is listed as a variant from (Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi) in China.

[14][16] Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting.

[41] It is used in gardens, also in herbal medicines,[8] and as a fodder plant for farm animals.