 The botanist travelled from Detroit by canoe with French Canadian voyagers and the surveyor for the Michigan Territory.It was first then published and described by Thomas Nuttall, in 'The Genera of North American Plants' (published in Philadelphia, USA) Volume1, Issue23 on 14 July 1818.An illustration of the iris was published in "Wild flowers of the United States" by Rickett, plate 11 in 1966.