Deer foot-Vanilla leaf is a delicate spring-flowering perennial of moist & shady woodlands, characteristic of coastal zones with marine influence … and stream-valleys and lake-sides. The leaf is a triplet, with a shape more like a duck or goose foot; the hoof-analogy is a stretch … but the leaf-edge shape is distinctive. It has a narrow, erect stalk that bears the flowers and seeds; about shin-high. They grow & spread in patches from a rhizome-runner, in loose, well-drained woodland soil. The rootstock seems like it would be worth a try, transplanting; easy to collect. The soil is often like a friable-compost lightened potting soil, which is fairly common in the woods it likes. Very tender, the plant crushes underfoot.
The scientific name is Achlys triphylla, and the colloquial names are also often heard as an incidental binomial (on the Olympic Peninsula, at least). When first mentioned or refered to, it is usually Deer foot-Vanilla leaf, and thereafter just vanilla leaf. Locally, the reported scent is rarely investigated or pursued … unlike its flamboyantly odorous habitat-companion, Wild Ginger. Any aroma from casually disturbed, fresh, live vanilla leaf is not especially attention-getting; maybe, as lore relates, it has to be dried first.
Botanically, it is a member of the Barberry clan, but totally unlike the namesake cousin. Oregon Grape is another local native Barberry member; its flower-stalk and spike structure is a little suggestive of vanilla leaf.