[3][4] Erythronium hendersonii has a pair of mottled leaves, and its scape can bear up to eleven blossoms, but more commonly 1–4.

The flower color is distinctive among all western North American Erythronium species.

[5][6] This species is named for Louis F. Henderson, who has been called "The Grand Old Man of Northwest Botany".

It is most abundant in dry, open woodlands of Ponderosa pine, Garry oak, and madrone.

In the UK, Erythronium henderonii has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.