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Close-up of white Inside-out Flowers (Vancouveria hexandra). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native plant available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Flower stalk of Inside-out Flower (Vancouveria hexandra) full of buds and flowers. Another stunning Pacific Northwest native plant available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Water droplets adorn the leaves of Inside-out Flowers (Vancouveria hexandra). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native plant available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Close-up of the leaves of Inside-out Flowers (Vancouveria hexandra). Another stunning Pacific Northwest native plant available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.
Close-up of the leaves of Inside-out Flowers (Vancouveria hexandra) in a sea of Pacific Waterleaf. Another stunning Pacific Northwest native plant available at Sparrowhawk Native Plants Nursery in Portland, Oregon.

Inside-out Flower

Vancouveria hexandra

The bright white flowers of this beauty are delicate, unique, and attractive to pollinators. Each spring, they dangle plentifully from the stems, their petals reflexed upward as though someone grabbed the center and pulled it inside out! The foliage is equally charming and iconic, soft green in color, gentle to the touch and on the eyes, and with an adorable shape well-deserving of its other common name, “duck’s foot”. 

  • Plant type/canopy layer: deciduous perennial herbaceous plant
  • Size at maturity: 0-1' tall, 1-2' wide
  • Light requirements: full shade, part-sun/part-shade
  • Moisture requirements: dry to moist soil, well-drained
  • Bloom time: April - Aug (May - July in the Portland Metro area)
  • Growth rate/ease: moderate growth rate, easy to grow
  • Wildlife support: flowers attract and support bees and other insect pollinators; overall plant supports beneficial insects and pest eating insects and is a caterpillar host plant and larval food source
  • Native habitat/range: Locally common growing in deep shade and dappled light of conifer forests at low to mid-elevations across SW WA, western OR and NW CA. Portland Plant List - yes.
  • Special features & uses: landscape uses include pollinator gardens and woodland gardens

Gardening with Inside-out Flower: Inside-out flower is the ideal candidate for any well-drained area of your woodland garden. Though it grows well in dry areas, be sure the soil is still mature and rich in organic matter - such as a complex conifer understory. It spreads modestly by rhizomes - but not quickly. Be sure to plant in multiples if you would like this to fill in as a charming groundcover. The delicate leaves look lovely contrasted with fern fronds and the hardier leaves of cascade Oregon grape and Wild Ginger.

Photo Credit 1, 2, 4, 5: Nikkie West, Sparrowhawk Native Plants

Photo Credit 3: "White inside-out flower" by Jonathan Lidbeck is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Customer Reviews

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Nicole W.
Hardy even in summer!

I love how this plant stays green, with minimal water, well into the summer months. Check it out here, with the dainty white flowers of small-flowered alumroot (Heuchera micrantha) hanging above it.

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A.C.
This must have been here before the ivy

This grows in our yard anywhere we have removed ivy, and it is so delicate and beautiful. Creates a gorgeous forest floor and so much nicer to walk through than the native strings of blackberry which also had to be removed to get the ivy out. I need to take some better pictures of it. It also doesn’t seem to try to take over the grass, which we love, because we love having a place to sit and enjoy too, even though I know it is not preferred to keep any grassy areas, we like our grass and that this tends to stay in the garden and not enter the grass…so bonus for us. I love that sparrowhawk also recommends other complimentary native plants to add in here and there.

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