General: Perennial herb from a small, oblong, greyish, fibrous-coated bulb at the end of a rhizome; flowering stems 4-15 cm tall, smooth.
Leaves: Basal leaves several, linear, grass-like, somewhat fleshy, 2-10 (15) cm long, about 1 mm wide, smooth; stem leaves 2 to 4, alternate, reduced upward, 1-4 cm long and 1-2 mm wide.
Flowers: Inflorescence of 1 or rarely 2, erect to nodding flowers atop the stem; flowers creamy-white with purple or green veins, often tinged with rose on the outside, broadly top-shaped, 8-13 mm long, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals oblong or broadly lanceolate; stamens 6; pistil 1, 3-chambered.
Fruits: Capsules, egg-shaped, 6-8 mm long; seeds numerous, crescent-shaped, flattened.
Notes: Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Tepals with purple veins; basal leaves often shorter than the flowering stems................... var. serotina
1. Tepals with yellow or green veins; basal leaves often longer than flowering stems..................... var. flava (Calder & Taylor) Boivin
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
Mesic rocky slopes, rock crevices and gravelly meadows in the upper subalpine and alpine zones; var. flava - infrequent and endemic on NW Vancouver Island, WC BC and the Queen Charlotte Islands; var. serotina - frequent in scattered localities throughout W BC; circumboreal, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NM, UT, NV and NW OR.