Vancouveria planipetala
Encyclopedia
Vancouveria planipetala is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family
known by the common names redwood inside-out flower and redwood ivy. It is native to southwestern Oregon
and northern California
, where it occurs in coastal mountain ranges. It grows in forests, especially redwood forests. It is a rhizomatous
perennial herb with a short, mostly underground stem. It produces a patch of basal leaves which are each made up of round or heart-shaped leaflets borne on long, reddish petioles
. The inflorescence
appears in May and June. It is a panicle
of flowers on a long, erect peduncle
. Each small, drooping flower has six inner sepal
s which look like petals. They are a few millimeters in length, white, and reflexed back, or upwards, away from the flower center. Lying against the sepals are the smaller true petals, which are white or purple-tinged and flat-tipped or notched. There are six stamen
s and a large glandular ovary
.
Berberidaceae
Berberidaceae are a family of 15 genera flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family contains about 570 species, of which the majority are in Berberis...
known by the common names redwood inside-out flower and redwood ivy. It is native to southwestern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it occurs in coastal mountain ranges. It grows in forests, especially redwood forests. It is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb with a short, mostly underground stem. It produces a patch of basal leaves which are each made up of round or heart-shaped leaflets borne on long, reddish petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
appears in May and June. It is a panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of flowers on a long, erect peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
. Each small, drooping flower has six inner sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s which look like petals. They are a few millimeters in length, white, and reflexed back, or upwards, away from the flower center. Lying against the sepals are the smaller true petals, which are white or purple-tinged and flat-tipped or notched. There are six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and a large glandular ovary
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
.