Vanilla zanzibarica Rolfe 1906 SUBGENUS Xanata SECTION Tethya

Drawing by © Senghas and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

Common Name The Zanzibar Vanilla

Flower Size

Found in Kenya, Tanzinia, Zanzibar and Pemba

CAUTION I have no way of personally verifying this determination so please use with caution!!

"Vanilla zanzibarica has been treated as a synonym of V. ramosa (e.g. Cribb, 1984; Stewart, 1996). However, the specimens from East Africa usually have much broader leaves, the midlobe of the lip is broader, obtuse, apiculate and conduplicate, and the total length of the lip is longer (up to 25 mm long). The conduplicate lip is more similar to that of V. crenulata, although not so high and gibbose, but V. zanzibarica lacks the foliaceous bracts of V. crenulata. Leaf shape and size approach those of V. ramosa, but the flowers are much larger. Vanilla zanzibarica seems to be geographically separated from the other members of this complex, being restricted to a small area in the Usambaras, Pemba and Zanzibar in Tanzania and to the Shimba Hills in Kenya." Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010

Synonyms Vanilla ovalifolia Rolfe 1896

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 2 Cribb 1984 as syn to V ramosa; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 2 Cribb 1984 as V ovalifolia syn to V ramosa; Lankesteriana 9(3): 355-398 Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010

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