Vanilla planifolia Jacks. ex Andrews 1808 Photo courtesy of © Richard Gautier and his Guadeloupe Orchid Page

to

Common Name Commercial Vanilla - The Flat Plane Leafed Vanilla

Flower Size 2 1/2" [6 cm]

Found in Florida, the West Indies, Central America and Northern South America in tropical wet forests at lower elevations as a large sized, warm to hot growing, scandent epiphyte with a, green, terete, fleshy, branching stem carrying numerous, fleshy, elliptic-oblong or ovate-elliptic, acute to subacuminate, gradually narrowing below into the basally clasping leaves spaced at intervals all along the stem that blooms on short 2" to 2 3/4" [5 to 7 cm] long, axillary, subsessile, racemose, several [to 20] flowered inflorescence that has broadly ovate-triangular, acute bracts and has the fleshy, fragrant, short-lived flowers opening in succession occuring throughout the year if well grown and it's seedpods are used to produce the essence of Vanilla.

Synonyms Myrobroma fragrans Salisb. 1807; Notylia planifolia (Jacks. ex Andrews) Conz. 1947; Notylia sativa (Schiede) Conz. 1947; Notylia sylvestris (Schiede) Conz. 1947; Vanilla duckei Huber 1909; Vanilla fragrans (Salisb.) Ames 1924; Vanilla hirsuta M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 1996; Vanilla sativa Schiede 1829; Vanilla sylvestris Schiede 1829; Vanilla tahitensis J.W.Moore 1933; Vanilla tiarei Costantin & Bois 1915; Vanilla viridiflora Bl. 1825;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 354 Dodson 1980; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1194 Dodson 1984; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 796 Bennett & Christenson 2001; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2006;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------