Fleshy, green rhizome. Leaves flat, to 30 cm long, 5 cm wide, ribbed. Stem to 40 cm tall, few-branched. Flowers 3-4, pale blue-violet, 9-10 cm wide; late spring. Perianth tube 2-3 cm long; falls 4-5 cm long, purple-mottled with white fringed crests and wavy margins; standards spreading obliquely.

China, Tibet and Burma.

The cultivar 'Alba' has white flowers with yellow crests.

All the above species are deciduous. The larger evergreen Evansias are tolerant of a wider range of conditions.

Those most common in gardens include I. japonica, I. confusa and I. wattii (falls hanging vertically).

Source: Cooke, D. (2005). Iridaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.