According to The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "in Japanese collections, the name represents any gold-leaved form of H. longipes. .."

It is a medium size plant about 15 inches high with a spread of around 36 inches. The golden foliage is broadly ovate, rippled and dull on top. Its petioles are intensely dotted in red. Lavender flowers bloom from August into September followed by viable seeds.

The New Encyclopedia of Hostas by Diana Grenfell (2009) states: "A useful breeding plant, yielding a high percentage of yellow-leaved seedlings when it is selfed."

Mikiko Lockwood in an article on The Hosta Library titled, A Little About Japanese Hosta Terms defines the term iwa as rock, Iwa Gibōshi or H. longipes and the term ogon or oogon as gold or yellow.