She gifts us with culinary and visual moments of happiness. Vanilla not only thrives as one of the few orchids with edible components, but also enchants with its lavish flowers. This profile introduces you to the outstanding properties of vanilla, which are not limited to the aromatic pods.
What are the special characteristics of the vanilla plant?
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) is an evergreen climbing plant from the orchid family, with a growth length of up to 30 meters. It has dark green, oval leaves, creamy yellow flowers and slender capsule fruits that can be made into vanilla beans.
Appearance and system at a glance
Real vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world after saffron. This is hardly surprising, given the complex cultivation of the terrestrial orchid and the lengthy processing of its pods into valuable Bourbon vanilla. The following profile shows what interesting attributes the plant is equipped with:
- Genus within the family Orchidaceae
- Evergreen, perennial terrestrial climbing plants
- Growth length of the tendrils in the wild up to 30 meters
- Climbing height from 10 to 15 meters
- Native to Madagascar and Central America, now in all tropical regions worldwide
- Best known species: Spiced vanilla (Vanilla planifolia)
- Dark green, oval leaves 20 to 30 centimeters long
- Cream yellow, white or green-yellow, intensely fragrant flower clusters in the leaf axils
- Lifespan of a single flower is 8 hours
- Narrow, long capsule fruits 8-9 months after fertilization
- Release of numerous dark, shiny black seeds
The vanilla orchid produces an aerial root with each leaf. This acts as an adhesive organ by allowing the plant to hold on to its base. In this way it reaches an impressive size in its habitat. While the magnificent flowers exude an intoxicating scent, the vanilla pods only develop the desired aroma over the course of months of processing.
Skin contact may cause itching
Although the vanilla orchid provides us with the popular spice, the plant is not completely harmless. The flowers and leaves contain a slightly toxic plant sap that can cause skin irritation in sensitive people and frequent contact. This creates an unpleasant itching sensation that torments plantation workers in the growing countries if they do not take protective measures.
Tip
The high price of real vanilla is due, among other things, to the fact that the orchid usually has to be pollinated manually. Outside their area of origin, specific species of bees and hummingbirds are not native as pollinators. At flowering time, armies of skilled plantation workers move out to carry out fertilization using plant spikes from cacti, orange or bamboo trees.
