[3][4] It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in mountains and grasslands.

Brodiaea coronaria is a perennial herb growing from a corm and producing an erect inflorescence with a few basal leaves.

The plant was first collected by Archibald Menzies during the Vancouver Expedition, and published as Hookera coronaria by Richard Salisbury in Paradisus Londinensis early in 1808.

[7] However, Salisbury's epithet coronaria still stands since Smith's Brodiaea grandiflora is now considered to have been an illegitimate name when published.

[1] Synonyms, in full or in part, include:[8] There are two subspecies of this plant: Native Americans and early European settlers of the continent harvested the small bulbs for food.