Bulb tunic not membranous, with numerous coarse fibers. Panicles erect, 5–25 dm, with many branches. 2n = 30, 36.

Flowering May--Aug. Common on open hills and plains, less often in woods and chaparral; 0--1500 m; Calif., Oreg.

Two chromosome numbers have been found in Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum: n = 18 for plants west of the Central Valley of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, and n = 15 for populations east of the rivers.