Stems 3.5-6 dm. Leaf blade 1-3 dm × 3-5 mm. Racemes open, 8-15 cm. Tepals 7-10 × 1.5-2.5 mm; stamens 3-4 mm; anthers brick red; pedicel 8-15 mm. Capsules 8-12 mm including beaks. Seeds 1.5-2 mm, 6-8 mm including bristle-tails. 2n = 26.

Flowering mid--late summer. Springs, seeps, and bogs in mountain meadows; 700--2800 m; Calif., Oreg.

Narthecium californicum can be locally common in the northern Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada of California, as well as in southwestern Oregon.