![]() Instead, growers reproduce the plant by cutting: they remove sections of the vine with six or more leaf nodes, a root opposite each leaf. Like other orchids' seeds, vanilla seeds will not germinate without the presence of certain mycorrhizal fungi. Both the pod and the seeds are used in cooking. In dishes prepared with whole natural vanilla, these seeds are recognizable as black specks. It then releases the distinctive vanilla smell. The fruit, a seed capsule, if left on the plant, ripens and opens at the end as it dries, the phenolic compounds crystallize, giving the fruits a diamond-dusted appearance, which the French call givre (hoarfrost). The vanilla flower lasts about one day, sometimes less, so growers have to inspect their plantations every day for open flowers, a labor-intensive task. The flower, self-pollinated, will then produce a fruit. Using a beveled sliver of bamboo, an agricultural worker lifts the membrane separating the anther and the stigma, then, using the thumb, transfers the pollinia from the anther to the stigma. A few years later in 1841, a simple and efficient artificial hand-pollination method was developed by a 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius on Réunion, a method still used today. Morren immediately began experimenting with hand pollination. Within hours, the flowers closed and several days later, Morren noticed vanilla pods beginning to form. ![]() He watched their actions closely as they would land and work their way under a flap inside the flower, transferring pollen in the process. In 1836, botanist Charles François Antoine Morren was drinking coffee on a patio in Papantla (in Veracruz, Mexico) and noticed black bees flying around the vanilla flowers next to his table. Today, even in Mexico, hand pollination is used extensively. The only way to produce fruits without the bees is artificial pollination. Growers tried to bring this bee into other growing locales, to no avail. The vines grew, but would not fruit outside Mexico. Cuttings from that plant went to Netherlands and Paris, from which the French first transplanted the vines to their overseas colonies. The first vanilla orchid to flower in Europe was in the London collection of the Honourable Charles Greville in 1806. The Melipona bee provided Mexico with a 300-year-long advantage on vanilla production from the time it was first discovered by Europeans. The flowers can be naturally pollinated by bees of genus Melipona (abeja de monte or mountain bee), by bee genus Eulaema, or by hummingbirds. However, self-pollination is blocked by a membrane which separates those organs. planifolia flowers are hermaphroditic: they carry both male (anther) and female (stigma) organs. Inside of these pods is an oily liquid full of tiny seeds. These seed pods are roughly a third of an inch by six inches, and brownish red to black when ripe. ![]() The distinctively flavored compounds are found in the fruit, which results from the pollination of the flower. Every year, growers fold the higher parts of the plant downward so the plant stays at heights accessible by a standing human. Left alone, it will grow as high as possible on the support, with few flowers. Its growth environment is referred to as its terroir, and includes not only the adjacent plants, but also the climate, geography, and local geology. It can be grown in a wood (on trees), in a plantation (on trees or poles), or in a "shader", in increasing orders of productivity. Vanilla grows as a vine, climbing up an existing tree (also called a tutor), pole, or other support. tahitiensis (grown in Niue and Tahiti), although the vanillin content of these species is much less than V. Indonesia and Madagascar are the world's largest producers. ![]() Although it is native to Mexico, it is now widely grown throughout the tropics. The main species harvested for vanilla is V. ![]()
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