This somewhat rare plant[2] is native to western North America, growing in the sagebrush steppe[3] and foothills up to alpine slopes.

[3] The star-shaped flowers come in inflorescences of three to fifteen blooms and they are white or pink, often with veiny stripes[3] and yellow blotches near the base of each petal.

[2] The entire plant is edible raw or cooked,[5] including the potato-like corm from which it grows.

[8] The Okanogan-Colville, Okanogan, and Nlaka'pamux Native American peoples used the tuber of this plant for food and for animal fodder.

Outside their native habitat they will not persist if subjected to either extreme drying during the summer or being flooded during rainstorms.