The brodiaea or wild hyacinth has a cluster of pale to dark blue, tubular flowers with six wavy lobes or “petals” atop a single spindly stem. These stems can grow twelve to eighteen inches tall from a bulb, with one or two grass-like leaves nearly as long as the stem.
Native Americans dug up the bulbs just before the leaves showed above the ground. These were eaten raw or cooked. When boiled, the bulbs have a sweet, nut-like flavor. The tender seedpod was eaten as a tasty green.