Vanilla
Vanilla is the fruit of an orchid that grows naturally in Mexico and Central America. When cultivated elsewhere, the flower must be pollinated artificially.
Vanilla is a tropical, climbing orchid. It is the only orchid that is grown for the sake of its fruit. We know these fruits as vanilla pods. The many grains in the vanilla pods are the orchid's tiny seeds.
When the Spanish came to Mexico in the 1500s, the Aztecs taught them to drink cacao added with vanilla, and they brought vanilla with them back home to Europe.
Many attempts were made to cultivate vanilla in Asia, but they all failed. The plants grew well and flowered, but none produced fruit. In 1836, it was discovered that the vanilla in Mexico and Central America was pollinated by a certain species of bee that lives there only.
After this, growers began to artificially pollinate plants with a small stick or brush. Today, the largest production of vanilla is found in Indonesia and Madagascar.
In the greenhouses the vanilla flowers are pollinated by the gardeners.
Fact box:
- Greenhouse location: Tropican house
- Danish name: Ægte vanilje
- Latin name: Vanilla planifolia
- Family: Orchid family / Orchidaceae
- Natural habitat: Mexico and Central America