Vanilla orchids grown indoors rarely flower or produce fruit. Vanilla orchids were pollinated by the Melipon a bee, which did not survive outside Mexico. So, Morren pollinated the plants by hand. Later on Reunion, an island off of Madagascar, former slave Edmond Albius perfected an easier method to hand pollinate. In 1836, Belgian Charles Morren discovered why. Unfortunately, no one could successfully grow Vanilla orchids outside of Mexico. In 1518, Cortez snagged some vanilla, took it back to Europe and created vanilla flavored chocolate. Queen Elizabeth I began using vanilla flavoring on its own, and soon all of Europe clamored for more. The Aztecs discovered the plant in Mexico in the early 16 th century and used the seed pods (vanilla beans) to counteract poisons, to aid digestion, and as an aromatic, exotic flavoring for Emperor Montezuma ’s beverage. Vanilla planifolia is one of over 60 species of Vanilla orchid and has been around for almost 500 years. Sadly, the blooms only last one day opening in the morning and closing at night. The pods are harvested before fully ripe and then cured to create vanilla flavoring. The flowers bloom over the period of a month, and if pollinated, can potentially produce fruit (seed pods). F lowers grow in clusters of 12 to 20 buds, are usually about 6 inches long and yellow-green. Vanilla orchids are vines with bright green, fleshy stems and leaves that grow si ngularly and alternately along the vine. Vanilla flavoring is the product of the Vanilla orchid, scientific name Vanilla planifolia ( Planifolia is Latin for “flat-leaved” ) Did you know that vanilla comes from orchids?
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