Tropicos | Name - Vanilla planifolia Andrews

Vanilla planifolia Andrews

Flora Data (Last Modified On 11/8/2012)

Species	VANILLA PLANIFOLIA Andr.
PlaceOfPublication	Bot. Repos. 8: t. 538. 1808
Reference	Dillon in Am. Orch. Soc. Bull. 10:339, t. II. 1942.
Synonym	Vanilla fragrans of authors.
Description	Scandent branched leafy herbs. Leaves 8-23 cm. long and 2-8 cm. broad, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, acute or acuminate, fleshy. Raceme short, 5-7 cm.-: long, axillary; bracts 5-10 mm. long, oblong, obtuse or subacute. Sepals 4-7 cm. long and 1-1.5 cm. broad, linear to oblanceolate, obtuse or acute. Petals similar to the sepals but smaller. Lip 4-5 cm. long and 1.5-3 cm. broad, with longitudinal, verrucose lines or papillae and a tuft of pubescence on the- disc. Column about 3 cm. long, pubescent dorsally. Capsule ("bean") up to about 20 cm. long and 1 cm. in diameter.
Distribution	Mexico to Panama, probably also in the West Indies. Cultivated throughout the tropics of the world.
Specimen	SAN BLAS: Perme, Cooper 287. CANAL ZONE: Fort Clayton and Corozal, Standley 29IO3. PANAMA: Rio Tecumen, Standley 29353; near Panama, Standley 29731.
Note	We think that Vanilla rubra (Lam.) Urban will probably prove to be the correct name for this species. This is the most commonly cultivated of the Vanillas. There are apparently several forms of the species and considerable difference in the flavor of the Vanilla extract in the various forms.