General:
Perennial herb from an egg-shaped to nearly globe-shaped, scaly bulb, the outer scales brownish to grey, with a wavy, fibrous network, the inner scales red or white; flowering stems erect, 10-40 cm tall, slender, round in cross-section, smooth.

Leaves:
Basal leaves 2 to 4, withering early, linear, channeled to cylindric, shorter than the flowering stem, very slender, smooth, the margins entire; stem leaves lacking.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a compact, often head-like, terminal umbel of several to many, stalked flowers, above 2 to 3 membranous, egg-shaped bracts, the stalks 0.5-1.5 cm long; flowers white to pink, saucer-shaped, of 6 distinct tepals, the tepals 5-9 mm long, lanceolate with pointed tips, spreading, in fruit becoming papery and folding over the ovaries; stamens 6, nearly as long as the tepals; pistil 1, 3-chambered.

Fruits:
Capsules, more or less egg-shaped, 3-lobed, with 6 low, rounded crests; seeds 6 or fewer, black.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Allium attenuifolium Kellogg
Allium monospermum Jeps.
Allium occidentale A. Gray