 They grow in cypress swamps surrounded by shallow water, or other aquatic habitats with shallow water and full shade.The species is hypothesized to originate as a result of a span of several years of closed-off habitats, and interbreeding of other Louisiana iris species ("I. fulva", "I. giganticaerulea", and "I. brevicaulis"), causing the species hybrid to gain stability as its own species.The iris's more recent discovery allows for increasing popularity by birthing many current Louisiana iris cultivars.