Vanilla pompona
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Vanilloideae
Genus: Vanilla
Species:
V. pompona
Binomial name
Vanilla pompona
Synonyms[2]
  • Notylia pompona (Schiede) Conz.

Vanilla pompona is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico and northern South America,[3] and is one of the sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content.

Vanilla pompona found in the Peruvian Amazon has been tested using HPLC analysis showing a concentration of vanillin content up to 9.88g/100g[4] making it suitable for the food or cosmetic industry.

Description

Vanilla pompona flower
Vanilla pompona flower

Like all members of the genus Vanilla, V. pompona is a vine. It uses its fleshy roots to support itself as it grows. Its leaves and stems are generally thicker than in V. planifolia and V. phaeantha.[5]

Pollination

V. pompona is one of the few Vanilla species for which there is definitive identification of the agents responsible for pollination; a study found that males of a medium-sized orchid bee, Eulaema cingulata, remove and transfer pollen of V. pompona in Peru, apparently while they are searching for nectar that the flowers do not possess.[6] Other bee species visit the flowers, but larger species cannot fit inside to reach the floral reproductive organs, and smaller species do not make physical contact with the stigma; of several observed floral visitors, only E. cingulata was within the necessary size range to accomplish pollen transfer.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Herrera-Cabrera, B.E.; Hernández, M.; Vega, M.; Wegier, A. (2020). "Vanilla pompona". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T105878897A173977322. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T105878897A173977322.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 26 January 2016
  3. ↑ e-monocot.org, retrieved 26 January 2016
  4. ↑ vanillapompona.com, retrieved 26 January 2016
  5. ↑ James D. Ackerman, "Vanilla Miller, Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4. vol. 3. 1754", Flora of North America, vol. 26
  6. 1 2 Watteyn, C., Scaccabarozzi, D., Muys, B., Van Der Schueren, N., Van Meerbeek, K., Guizar Amador, M. F., Ackerman, J. D., Cedeño Fonseca, M. V., Chinchilla Alvarado, I. F., Reubens, B., Pillco Huarcaya, R., Cozzolino, S., & Karremans, A. P. (2022). Trick or treat? Pollinator attraction in Vanilla pompona (Orchidaceae). Biotropica 54: 268– 274. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13034


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