This plant grows from a small, beige ish-purple bulb. It has a long, thin green stem, with a few long thin leaves coming out of the base. The flower is a dense cluster of 10-25 flowers, each with a vase or urn shape. They are typically in the light purple/pink range, tending towards whitish. Each flower has visible yellow anthers. At the base of the flower clump where it meets the stem, there is a thin papery casing (which protects the bud and sheaves off when it blooms). There are several varieties. Prefers to grow in openings in pine forest, grassy slopes, and mountain meadows.