Achlys (plant) these plants include vanilla leaf (sometimes written as vanilla-leaf or vanillaleaf, depending on the taxonomist or flora), deer's foot and sweet after death, referring to the vanilla scent of its crushed leaves. The Plant List recognizes two species, with "A. californica" regarded as a subspecies of "A. triphylla" "Achlys triphylla", known in western North America as vanillaleaf, is an erect perennial plant that sprouts from a creeping rhizome. Leaves are long-petioled and palmately divided into three leaflets. Flowers are small and lack sepals and petals, but instead have long showy white stamens that form single erect spikes. The leaflets give
Polygonum ramosissimum calyx. The calyx is around long and 5-parted with the outer three sepals longer than the inner sepals. The seeds are produced in fruits called achenes, which are egg-shaped, dark brown and around long. The achenes also have a smooth shiny surface. The late season achenes are larger, from 4 to 15 mm long. There are a number of forms and two subspecies, that vary in flower and foliage coloration. "Polygonum ramosissimum" has great morphological variability, which is notable on the same plant, between flowers and fruits produced early in the blooming season verses those produced late in the season,