Vanilla is a member of the orchid family, the largest and oldest family of flowering plants in the world. Vanilla is the only edible fruit of the entire orchid family, which includes roughly 25,000 orchid varieties and over 10,000 hybrids. It grows best in the moist, tropical regions of the world 15-1/2 degrees to the north and south of the Equator. It is an herbaceous climbing vine which requires a supporting tree or pole for optimal growth. It bears trumpet-shaped flowers which are naturally pollinated by bees and humming birds and even hand pollinate. Because of its unique flavor it is found used in ice cream and gives every kind of food, from chocolate bars to lobster, richness and depth.
| Name | Vanilla |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Vanilla planifolia |
| Native | Mesoamerica – Mexico and Guatemala |
| Common/English Name | Bali Vanilla, Bourbon Vanilla, Commercial Vanilla, Common Vanilla, Flat-Leaved Vanilla, Indian Ocean Vanilla, Indonesian Vanilla, Java Vanilla, Mauritius Vanilla, Mexican Vanilla, Seychelles Vanilla, Tahitian Vanilla, West Indian Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla Vine. |
| Name in Other Languages | Amharic : Vanila Arabic : Al-Fanilya Armenian : Vanil Basque : Bainila Belarusian : Vaniĺ Brazil : Baunilha Bulgarian : Vanilia Chinese : Fan Ni Lan, Hsaing Ts’ao Lan, Xiang Cao, Xiang Cao Dou, Xiang Jia Lan, Xiang Lan, Xiang Zi Lan, Wahn Nei La Columbia : Bejuquillo, Bejuquillo, Vainilla Croatian: Vanilija Cuba : Cuyanquillo, Flor Negra, Lombricera Czech : Vanilka, Vanilka Pravá, Vanilovník Plocholistý Danish : Ægte Vanilje, Vanilje, Vanille Dutch : Vanielje, Vanieljesoort, Vanille Eastonian : Harilik Vanill Esperanto : Vanilo Farsi : Vanil Finnish : Vanilja French : Vanille Bourbon, Vanille D’indonésie, Vanille Des Seychelles, Vanille Du Méxique, Vanillier, Vanille, Vrai Vanillier Frisian : Fanylej, Fanille Gaelic : Faoineag Georgian : Vanili German : Echte Vanille, Gewürzvanille, Große Vanille, Vanille Greek : Vanilia, Vanillia Hebrew : Vanil Hungarian : Vanília Icelandic : Vanilla India :
Indonesia : Panili ( Javanese, Sundanese ) |
| Plant Growth Habit | Succulent, herbaceous, perennial vine climbing trees |
| Growing Climate | Humid, evergreen tropical forest and watershed areas climbing up trees |
| Soil | Thrives in friable, well drained, loamy soil rich in organic matter |
| Plant Size | 12–15 m |
| Root | Long adventitious roots |
| Stem | Cylindrical long 1–2 cm diameter, dark green simple or branched |
| Leaf | Alternate, fleshy and sub-sessile. Lamina flat, oblong-elliptical to lanceolate 8–25 × 5–8 cm, apex acute to acuminate |
| Flower | Sepals and petals erect-spreading, yellow-green, fleshy, rigid; sepals 3 – oblanceolate, 3.5–5.5 × 1.1–1.3 cm, margins straight, apex acute to obtuse; petals elliptic-oblanceolate, abaxially keeled, thinner than sepals, 3.5–5.5 × 1.1–1.3 cm, apex acute to obtuse; lip adnate to column for 1.5–2 cm, yellow-green, becoming dark yellow toward apex, lamina gullet-like, cuneate, rhomboid, with apical retuse lobule; disc with central tuft of retrorse scales, an hairy to apex; column white, slender, 3–3.5 cm, margins slightly sinuate, adaxially bearded; pollinia – 2, yellow; ovary pedicellate, 3–5 cm. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Pendulous, narrow cylindrical capsule, 10–25 cm by 0.8–1.5 cm, obscurely 3 angled splitting longitudinally when ripe. |
| Fruit Color | Green when young turning to dark brown as they mature |
| Seed | Numerous, globose, 0.4 mm diameter and black. |
| Varieties/Types |
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| Major Nutrition | Manganese, Mn 0.478 mg (20.78%) Carbohydrate 26.31 g (20.24%) Copper, Cu 0.15 mg (16.67%) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.198 mg (15.23%) Potassium, K 308 mg (6.55%) Magnesium, Mg 25 mg (5.95%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 0.884 mg (5.53%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.054 mg (4.15%) Iron, Fe 0.25 mg (3.13%) Calcium, Ca 23 mg (2.30%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1 cup (208 gm) | 599 k cal |