page_title: Vanilla (genus)
section_title: Selected species
hierarchical_section_title: Vanilla (genus) / Selected species
caption_attribution_description: English: Vanilla pompona vine on tree trunk (left), and the brown spadix and large leaf of an unidentified species of Aroideae (right; this is not a vanilla bean)
context_page_description: Vanilla, the vanilla orchids, forms a flowering plant genus of about 110 species in the orchid family. The most widely known member is the flat-leaved vanilla, native to Mexico, from which commercial vanilla flavoring is derived. It is the only orchid widely used for industrial purposes in flavoring such products as foods, beverages and cosmetics, and is recognized as the most popular aroma and flavor. The key constituent imparting its popular characteristics is the phenolic aldehyde, vanillin.
  This evergreen genus occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, from tropical America to tropical Asia, New Guinea and West Africa. Five species are known from the contiguous United States, all limited to southern Florida.
  The genus was established in 1754 by Plumier, based on J. Miller. The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina, simply translates as little pod.
context_section_description: The taxonomy of the genus Vanilla is complex.
  see List of Vanilla species
  This is a partial list of species or synonyms:
  Vanilla albida
  Vanilla andamanica
  Vanilla aphylla Blume – Leafless vanilla
  Vanilla atropogon
  Vanilla bahiana
  Vanilla barbellata – Small bearded vanilla, wormvine orchid, "leafless vanilla"
  Vanilla chamissonis Klotzsch – Chamisso's vanilla
  Vanilla claviculata – Green withe
  Vanilla dilloniana – Dillon's vanilla, "leafless vanilla"
  Vanilla edwallii – Edwall's vanilla
  Vanilla humblotii
  Vanilla mexicana Mill. – Mexican vanilla
  Vanilla moonii
  Vanilla odorata C.Presl – Inflated vanilla
  Vanilla phaeantha – Leafy vanilla
  Vanilla pilifera Holttum
  Vanilla planifolia Andrews – Flat-leaved vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, "West Indian vanilla"
  Vanilla poitaei – Poiteau's vanilla
  Vanilla polylepis
  Vanilla pompona Schiede – Pompona vanilla, Guadeloupe vanilla, "West Indian vanilla"
  Vanilla raabii
  Vanilla roscheri
  Vanilla siamensis – Thai vanilla
  Vanilla somai
  Vanilla tahitensis
  Vanilla walkeriae
caption: Pompona vanilla (Vanilla pompona)
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