Leaves 1-2, 10-20 cm. Scape 20-25 cm, slightly scabrous. Flowers: perianth white to pale straw-colored, sometimes with darker midvein color extending into distal portion of tepal lobe, tube 6-10 mm, nearly equal to lobes, lobes strongly reflexed, 6-10 mm; short filaments 3 mm, long filaments 4 mm, apical appendages straight or slightly recurved; anthers white; pedicel 1-12 cm. 2n = 14, 28.
Flowering spring. Stream sides, wet ravines on serpentine, often near cypresses; 0--500 m; Calif.
Subspecies cookii is restricted to San Luis Obispo County and is recognized by its long pedicels and relatively long perianth tube in relation to the length of the perianth lobes.