Bulbs ovoid, ca. 1.5 cm diam.; outer coats brown; bulblets 10-20+. Scapes 1-2, terete, 30-60 cm × 2-3 mm. Leaves 2-9, sheaths enveloping neck of bulb, hyaline, reduced apically; blade linear, 20-40(-50) cm × 4-12 mm, margins entire. Umbel 10-20-flowered, often asymmetrical, to 5 cm diam.; bracts persistent, 2, 1.2-2 cm × 5-8 mm, bases fused, imbricate, margins scarious. Flowers fragrant; tepals white adaxially with pink midvein and greenish bases, oblanceolate, 9-15 × 4 mm, apex obtuse; filaments simple, adnate to tepals, 7-10 mm; anthers dark brown; ovary crestless; style persistent in fruit, ± equaling stamens; stigma unlobed, equaling perianth; pedicel erect to spreading, 2-6 cm, unequal. Capsules obovoid, ca. 6-7 × 6-7 mm. Seeds 8-12 per locule.

Flowering Mar--Dec. Roadsides, waste places; 0--100 m; introduced; Ala., Calif., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., S.C.; South America.

There is considerable controversy over the correct epithet. Based on the information available, the authors feel that Nothoscordum borbonicum Kunth is a misapplied name and that the correct name is Nothoscordum gracile.

In the flora area, Nothoscordum gracile is an escape from cultivation.