Iris masia is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Limniris and in the Syriacae. It is a rhizomatous perennial. It is occasionally known in Turkey, as the 'Barbed iris'. It was originally discovered by plant hunter, Paul Sintenis in 1888, near to the village of 'Sueverek', on the lower slopes of the Karadja Dagh, a mountain which lies in the district of Diyarbakır Province (now part of Southeastern Anatolia) of northern Mesopotamia. It was then named by Otto Stapf in 1888. Herr Max Leichtlin then gave Sir Michael Foster some specimens and Mr Foster then published it 'The Garden' (Issue61,page288) on 3 May 1902 as Iris masiae (Foster).