Inside-Out-Flower (Vancouveria hexandra)

This herbaceous perennial is a flowering plant from the Berberidaceae family. It is endemic to the Douglas Fir forests of southern British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. They have a scattered range in northwest California, but it is much less common there. This rhizomatous native is fairly adaptable to our northwest climate, preferring mild wet winters and dry summers. It typically grows in the moist shaded understory and along stream banks, but it can tolerate drier forest edges with dappled light. The inside-out flower has some of the coolest flowers that I’ve encountered. They grow on slender stalks in open panicles, between 10-30
cm tall. The flowers are white and have six petals and six sepals that bend backward and flare - they bend so far back that they look ‘inside out’. The nodding, downward-pointing flowers are somewhat reminiscent of the shooting star flower. Once pollinated, they produce fleshy black seeds that fall off and are sometimes distributed by ants and wasps, however, they primarily reproduce via rhizome. This native plant is a great addition for shade gardens as a ground cover and is WAY better than ivy 🦋