Iris proantha is a beardless iris in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and in the Chinenses series of the species. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial. It is written as 小鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as xiao yuan wei in China. It has the common name in (China) of 'small iris'. In 1989, Iris pseudorossii (before it was found to be a synonym of Iris proantha), was found in Baishui, past Nga-ba village. It is mentioned in the RHS journal, 'New Plantsman' (in 2000). It was later verified by United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service on 4 April 2003.