Flowering spring--summer (May--Jul). Grasslands, meadows, open woodlands; 0--2200 m; Calif., Oreg.
Subspecies elegans, like Brodiaea coronaria subsp. coronaria, is very widespread and grows well in a variety of conditions. It has 2n = 16 in the upper foothills of the Sierra Nevada, but elsewhere 2n = 32 or, in a zone of contact with B. coronaria near Sonora, California, 2n = 12 and 24, apparently resulting from hybridization. This subspecies is in cultivation.