Vanilla planifolia

Plant Characteristics

Habit		orchid
Height:	⇕	1 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 1. to 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Width:	⇔	1 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 1. to 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	C & S America

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Water:	◍	moist
Features:	✓	flowers, edible
USDA Zones:		11 to 12
Flower features:	❀	white

Scientific Names

Orchidaceae >

Vanilla >

planifolia >

Like all members of the genus Vanilla, V. planifolia is a vine. It uses its fleshy roots to support itself as it grows.

Flowers are greenish-yellow, with a diameter of 5 cm (2 in). They last only a day, and must be pollinated manually, during the morning, if fruit is desired. The plants are self-fertile, and pollination simply requires a transfer of the pollen from the anther to the stigma. If pollination does not occur, the flower is dropped the next day. In the wild, there is less than 1% chance that the flowers will be pollinated, so in order to receive a steady flow of fruit, the flowers must be hand-pollinated when grown on farms. Hand pollinators can pollinate about 1,000 flowers per day.

Fruit is produced only on mature plants, which are generally over 3 m (10 ft) long. The fruits are 15-23 cm (6-9 in) long pods (often incorrectly called beans). They mature after about five months, at which point they are harvested and cured. Curing ferments and dries the pods while minimizing the loss of essential oils. Vanilla extract is obtained from this portion of the plant.

Read about Vanilla planifolia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Vanilla planifolia, Andr. (V. aromatica, Willd., in part). Common Vanilla. Vanilla Bean (from the pods). Tall climbing herbs with stout sts.: lvs. thick, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, with short, stout petioles: fls. yellow, large, in axillary racemes of 20 or more blossoms; sepals and petals oblanceolate; labellum trumpet-shaped, with small, reflexed, crenulate lobes. Winter. A native of Mex., but widely cult. throughout the tropics and in greenhouses.—Partially epiphytic. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

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  Flat-leaved Vanilla

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  Koehler's Medicinal-Plants 1887

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Vanilla planifolia. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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