It is endemic to California, where it grows along the Central Coast in the Coast Ranges and in the Santa Monica Mountains, often in clays and serpentine soils.

[2][3] It is a perennial herb that is typically found in the foothill woodlands and valley grasslands of California.

[4] Allium crispum grows from a bulb one to one and a half centimeters wide and sends up naked green stems topped with inflorescences of many flowers, each on a short pedicel.

The flowers are magenta in color and have six triangular tepals.

[3][5][6] The leaves are narrow and linear, typically slightly shorter than the stems and about 1.5 millimeters wide.