General: Perennial herb from a deep, papery-scaled, egg-shaped bulb; flowering stems erect, 20-50 cm tall, stout, usually unbranched, smooth, sometimes with bulblets in the axils of the leaves.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, few to several, linear, channeled, grass-like, to 50 cm long, decreasing in size up the stem, smooth, glaucous, curled at the tips sheathing at the base, the margins entire; basal leaves 5-10 cm long, withering.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 1 to 3, terminal, erect, stalked flowers, above 2 or more very slender, unequal bracts; flowers pink to purple, rarely white, broadly bell-shaped; petals 3, distinct, narrowly egg-shaped, 3-4.5 cm long, green-striped longitudinally on the outside, on the inside bearded with slender hairs and sometimes purple-banded above a basal, arrowhead-shaped, densely hairy nectar gland; sepals narrowly lanceolate with long slender tip, 4-5 cm long, generally longer than the petals, smooth; stamens 6, anthers blunt; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits: Capsules, narrowly lanceolate, 4-5.5 cm long; 3-angled, erect; seeds many, straw-coloured, flattened, with loose-fitting coats.
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.
Dry shrublands, grasslands and open forests in the steppe and lower montane zones; frequent in SC BC, locally frequent in SE BC; S to MT, ID, NV and CA.
