2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Vanilla (Latin Vanilla) - a genus of climbing plants belonging to the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). Some species of lianas of this genus give people a fragrant spice of the same name, which is second only to Saffron in value. Despite the high cost associated with the laboriousness of the process of growing vanilla pods, the spice is very popular all over the world due to the unique taste of the seeds of the plant.
What's in your name
The Latin name of the genus "Vanilla" is based on a diminutive from the Spanish word "vaina", the meaning of which is translated as "scabbard or pods", which in the diminutive version is translated as "small pod" or "pod". The reason for this name was the fragrant fruit-pods of the Mexican liana, cultivated since ancient times by the American Indians.
During the time of the last Aztec emperor, Montezuma II (1466-1520), vanilla pods served as money, replenishing the imperial treasury in the form of taxes collected from the subjects of the Empire.
Description
Plants of the genus Vanilla are lianas with thin stems, clinging to the support that has turned up on the way with special tendrils, like a vine. The support can be a tree, a pillar or a pole, or any other support called a "guardian".
Left unattended, the vine will strive closer to heaven. To make Vanilla easy to maintain, farmers drop the tops of the plant each year so that the entire vine is within reach of a standing person. Such handling of the vine also stimulates more abundant flowering.
In natural conditions, vines for successful growth and their presence on the planet through germination of seeds have created two alliances with other terrestrial creatures. Flowers of plants of the genus Vanilla have a complex structure inherent in all orchid flowers. Although they are hermaphrodites, to avoid self-pollination, the male and female organs in the flower are separated by a membrane. For natural pollination, they need an intermediary.
The first alliance of lianas was made with pollinating bees, which live only in Mexico and know how to get to the pollen cleverly hidden by the flower. Since such bees are not found in other parts of the planet, the vines planted outside Mexico refused to give people their fruits. It took people several centuries to look for the possibility of artificial pollination of the flowers of the vine.
The second alliance was made with fungal mycorrhiza, which helps the seeds of the vine to germinate. Therefore, in conditions that differ from Mexican, liana propagation occurs only by cuttings.
History of artificial pollination
The flowers of all types of Orchids have a very complex structure, radically different from the flowers of the plants we are accustomed to. So the lianas of the genus Vanilla have a protective valve inside the flower, under which only black bees - the aborigines of Mexico - have learned to make their way to pollen and nectar.
In 1836, the Belgian botanist Charles Morran, who drank coffee on a patio (in Mexico), followed the actions of bees who managed to pollinate the flowers of the vine. He began experimenting with hand pollination, but the method he came up with was too time consuming.
An easier way was invented by a 12-year-old boy named Edmond Albius, who was a slave and helped his master to care for garden plants. Using the beveled bamboo stem, he lifted the membrane separating the anther, and with his finger moved the pollinies from the anther to the stigma. This has to be done with every flower where there are no black bees. That is why the spice is so expensive.
Varieties
The genus Vanilla has more than 100 species of orchid plants in its ranks. Of these, only the following three types are grown in culture:
* Vanilla flat-leaved (Latin Vanilla planifolia) - or Vanilla aromatic is the main species grown for spice. Originally from Mexico, the vine has thrived well on the island of Madagascar and Indonesia, which today are the largest producers of the spice "vanilla".
* Great vanilla (Latin Vanilla pompona) - this and the following species have a lower vanilla content than flat-leaved vanilla.
Recommended:
Growing Aromatic Vanilla
Today, few people are surprised by a pot with an exquisite and demanding orchid in indoor floriculture. But there is one representative of the orchid family, which is able to interest even the most sophisticated in home crop production. It's about vanilla. This fragrant "aristocrat" is a delicacy in the kitchens of baking lovers, but it can also become a wonderful decorative element of your interior
Vanilla Flat-leaved
Vanilla flat-leaved (Latin Vanilla planifolia) - an epiphytic evergreen plant of the genus Vanilla (Latin Vanilla), belonging to the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). This is the main species of the genus used by people to obtain the spice of the same name.
