Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology

To the orchidologists all of the features listed above are exceptional, even within a family as diverse as Orchidaceae, but the question remains: Is Vanilla planifolia one-of-a-kind? The answer is “no”. Vanilla planifolia may be the only species of more than 25,000 naturally occurring orchid species that is of significant agricultural value as a crop plant, and it may possess a number of unusual features compared to the majority of orchids, but it is not unique in the family. In fact, the genus Vanilla contains as many as 110 different species, which are distributed throughout tropical and subtropical areas of North America, South America, Africa, and Asia (Box 14.1). All are climbing vines, but differ considerably in their habitat preference, foliage, floral structure, and relationships with animal pollinators. Furthermore, Vanilla is only 1 genus out of 15 genera that are classified within the orchid subfamily Vanilloideae (the “vanilloid orchids”). Some of Vanilla’s closest relatives (e.g. Pseudovanilla and Clematepistephium) are also climbing vines. Others (e.g. Cyrtosia) also produce fleshy fruits containing spherical crustose seeds not unlike those of Vanilla. Still others, indigenous to temperate areas of northern North America and Asia (e.g. Pogonia), shed their pollen also as monads from flowers that share similar morphology with those of tropical Vanilla species (Cameron 2003). Vanilla planifolia may not be unique in Orchidaceae, but this wild species, domesticated centuries ago, provides humankind with a commodity cherished as a flavor and fragrance that is unique among spices.

BOX 14.1 CHECKLIST OF ALL CURRENTLY RECOGNIZED SPECIES OF VANILLA ARRANGED BY NATIVE CONTINENTAL DISTRIBUTION. BASED ON DATA BY GOVAERTS ET AL. 2008

AFRICA

1. Vanilla acuminata Gabon

2. Vanilla africana West Africa

3. Vanilla bampsiana Zaire

4. Vanilla chalottii Gabon

5. Vanilla coursii Madagascar

6. Vanilla cucullata Cameroon to Gabon

7. Vanilla decaryana Madagascar

8. Vanilla francoisii Madagascar

9. Vanilla grandifolia Principe to Zaire

10. Vanilla hallei Gabon

11. Vanilla heterolopha Gabon

12. Vanilla humblotii Comoros

13. Vanilla imperialis West Africa to SW. Ethiopia and Angola

14. Vanilla madagascariensis Madagascar

15. Vanilla nigerica Nigeria to Cameroon

16. Vanilla ochyrae Cameroon

17. Vanilla perrieri Madagascar

18. Vanilla phalaenopsis Seychelles

19. Vanilla polylepis Kenya

20. Vanilla ramosa Ghana to Tanzania

21. Vanilla roscheri Ethiopia to Natal

22. Vanilla seretii West Africa

ASIA

1. Vanilla abundiflora Borneo

2. Vanilla albida Taiwan to Malesia

3. Vanilla andamanica Andaman Island

4. Vanilla annamica China to Vietnam

5. Vanilla aphylla Assam to Java

6. Vanilla borneensis Borneo

7. Vanilla calopogon Philippines

8. Vanilla diabolica Sulawesi

9. Vanilla giulianettii New Guinea

10. Vanilla griffithii West Malesia

11. Vanilla havilandii Borneo

12. Vanilla kaniensis New Guinea

13. Vanilla kempteriana New Guinea

14. Vanilla kinabaluensis Penninsular Malaysia to Borneo

15. Vanilla moonii Sri Lanka

16. Vanilla ovalis Philippines

17. Vanilla palembanica Sumatra

18. Vanilla pierrei Indo-China

19. Vanilla pilifera Assam to Borneo

20. Vanilla platyphylla Sulawesi

21. Vanilla seranica Maluku

22. Vanilla shenzhenica China

23. Vanilla siamensis China to Thailand

24. Vanilla sumatrana Sumatra

25. Vanilla utteridgei New Guinea

26. Vanilla walkeriae India & Sri Lanka

27. Vanilla wariensis New Guinea

28. Vanilla wightii India

NORTH AMERICA (including Mexico and Caribbean)

1. Vanilla barbellata South Florida to Caribbean

2. Vanilla bakeri Cuba

3. Vanilla bicolor Caribbean to South America

4. Vanilla claviculata Caribbean

5. Vanilla correllii Bahamas

6. Vanilla dilloniana South Florida to Caribbean

7. Vanilla inodora Mexico to Central America

8. Vanilla mexicana South Florida, Mexico to South America

9. Vanilla odorata Mexico to South America