Scape 7-24 cm, slender. Flowers 14-24 mm; perianth rose to pinkish purple, rotate, tube narrowly cylindrical, not constricted above ovary, 6-9 mm, opaque, not splitting in fruit, lobes widely spreading, 11-15 mm; filaments linear, 1-2 mm, base dilated to form triangular flap, appendages absent or narrow and inconspicuous; anthers linear, 2-4 mm, apex hooked; staminodia erect, held close to stamens, white, broad, 6-8 mm, margins 3/4 involute, apex 2-lobed; ovary 4-5 mm; style 4-5 mm; pedicel 2-9 cm. 2n = 32.

Flowering spring (May--Jun). Foothill woodland openings; of conservation concern; 200--500 m; Calif.

Brodiaea insignis is endangered. It is endemic to three localities along the Kaweah and Tule river drainages and is threatened by development, road maintenance, and grazing. It is in cultivation.