Vanilla planifolia
species of plant
Vanilla planifolia is a species of vanilla orchid native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. It is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names include flat-leaved vanilla and West Indian vanilla (which is also used for the Pompona vanilla, V. pompona), though it is often simply referred to as vanilla. It was first scientifically named in 1808.
Vanilla planifolia played a large role in the early rural economy throughout Mexico and by the 20th century had become a widely cultivated crop across the world. With the species' population in decline and its habitats being converted to other purposes, the IUCN has assessed Vanilla planifolia as Endangered.
Description
Vanilla planifolia grows as an evergreen vine, either on the ground or on trees. It will sometimes grow as an epiphyte without rooting in the soil. When rooted in the soil its terrestrial roots are branched and develop fine root hairs associated with mycorrhizal fungus. In the wild it easily grows to 15 meters in length and may grow to as much as 30 meters.
“Vanilla planifolia” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Vanilla, planifolia and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Vanilla planifolia” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Vanilla, planifolia and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7224923. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1808.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Vanilla planifolia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.