Flat-leaved vanilla

Vanilla planifolia

''Vanilla planifolia'' is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico, and is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names are flat-leaved vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, and West Indian vanilla . Often, it is simply referred to as "the vanilla". It was first scientifically named in 1808.
Vanilla plant, Palmarium reserve, Madagascar Here it is, Madagascar's green gold, or black gold once the process completes. Vanilla, as a spice, is the result of the very laboursome, complicated, risky and unnatural processing of a particular orchid species: Vanilla planifolia. Vanilla plants are hand-pollinated by people. Once grown and harvested, they need a very lengthy treatment where for dozens of days, they are laid out in the sun to dry. The dry time needs to be a few hours only, so they can't be kept in the sun. At the end of the process, the outcome is a very dark to pure black stick fruit. Darker is one sign to tell quality. Vanilla is always super expensive but at times is even more expensive, such as when crops fail. Also, powerful middleman traders may add to the price. As a result, high quality vanilla is currently so expensive that many manufacturers use replacement products. For example, when ordering vanilla ice cream, it's unlikely for it to contain actual vanilla. Vanilla is currently so valuable that large scale farmers need security guards at night to watch over their land. The above is a dramatically simplified version of cultivation, in reality it's much more complex, above all, a very unnatural and sensitive process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla#Cultivation Vanilla is used in unfortunate ways in the English language, suggesting "plain". There's nothing plain about it, it's an explicit, strong and unique aroma and taste. But ah well. Africa,Flat-leaved vanilla,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Palmarium reserve,Vanilla planifolia,World

Appearance

Like all members of the genus ''Vanilla'', ''V. planifolia'' is a vine. It uses its fleshy roots to support itself as it grows.
Vanilla plant, Madagascar Cultivated. Vanilla is one of the main export products of the north of Madagascar. The plants are fertilized by hand. I've seen them do it, although I still don't understand how it works. Africa,Amber Mountain,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar North,Spring,Vanilla planifolia,World

Distribution

''Vanilla planifolia'' is found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northeastern South America. It prefers hot, wet, tropical climates.

It is cultivated and harvested primarily in Veracruz, Mexico and in Madagascar.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassMonocots
OrderAsparagales
FamilyOrchidaceae
GenusVanilla
SpeciesV. planifolia
Photographed in
Madagascar
Réunion