Allium validum, known by several common names including swamp onion, wild onion, and Pacific onion, has been previously classified as a member of the lily family, Liliaceae; however, it is now thought of to be in the Alliaceae. Allium validum is native to California. The Allium validum bulb is three to five centimeters long, ovoid and clustered on the short end. The outer coat of the stout rhizome is brown or gray in color, fibrous, and vertically lined. The stem is 50 to 100 centimeters long and angled. There are three to six leaves more or less equal to the stem and the leaves are flat or more or less keeled. There are 15 to 40 flowers with pedicels being seven to twelve millimeters in length. The flower itself is six to ten millimeters, its perianth parts are more or less erect, narrowly lance-shaped, acuminate, and entire with a rose to white color. The stamens are exerted and there is no ovary crest.