Plants 3-6 dm, from bulbs; bulbs not clumped, tunicate, ovoid, 18-40 × 9-35 mm. Leaves: proximal blades 10-30 cm × 3-8 mm. Inflorescences usually paniculate, 20-80-flowered, with 1-8 branches, terminal raceme 10-45 × 3-8 cm. Flowers: perianth hypogynous, 10-20 mm diam.; tepals persistent in fruit, cream colored, elliptic, 4-7 × 2-5 mm, outer not clawed; gland 1, obovate, distal margins evident; filaments thin and curved, shorter than tepals; pedicel usually perpendicular to stem in fruit, 12-40 mm, bracts green, 2-8 mm. Capsules 8-16 × 5-10 mm. 2n = 22.

Flowering Apr--Jun. Creosote bush scrub, Joshua tree woodlands, sandy areas of the Mojave and Colorado deserts; 600--1500 m; Calif.