Botany: vanilla-leaf

Self-tutoring about plant identification in nature: the tutor mentions vanilla-leaf.

Vanilla-leaf is a distinct plant one tends to see in the forest around here. As the guide says, it has fan-shaped leaves near the ground, typically three. As I recall, they more or less cover the ground.

When flowering, vanilla-leaf has a central vertical spike covered in small white flowers. The spike might be 5cm high or more, and likely what one notices about vanilla-leaf.

Over the years I’ve seen vanilla-leaf often under the forest canopy, usually next to areas that might collect water in the rainy season but are just damp by flowering time, which seems to be right now.

Source:

Pojar, J., MacKinnon, A. (editors), 1994. Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing.