Vanilla planifolia Vanilla planifolia Vanilla planifolia is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico and Central America, and is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names are flat-leaved vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, and West Indian vanilla (also used for the Pompona vanilla, "V. pompona"). Often, it is simply referred to as "the vanilla". It was first scientifically named in 1808. "Vanilla planifolia" is found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northeastern South America. It prefers hot, wet, tropical climates. It is cultivated and harvested primarily in Veracruz, Mexico and in
Orchid hunting Orchid hunting Orchid hunting is the search for orchid plants in the wild. The orchid plants are usually being acquired for the commercial market, where there was, and still is, significant demand for these unusual flowering plants. In 1818, William John Swainson was collecting plants in Rio de Janeiro. He sent a box of tropical plants he had acquired to London. As a packing material he used orchids, which he believed were parasitic plants. Surprisingly, one of the orchids bloomed on arrival, and Londoners were astonished by the unusual shape and colors of the flower. That single flower triggered "orchid