These irises are usually used in damp places and bog gardens, but they grow well also in drier places. They make robust clumps of long, narrow leaves, and the stems of narrow-petalled flowers stand up well above the foliage. There are just a few species, but many selected varieties.

Iris cf. chrysographes is likely to be the same as collection SDR5935, although it came from an area a good few miles away. Both sets of plants are rather shorter than most Iris chrysographes, but probably have the deep purple flowers with the yellow pattern characteristic of that species.