The heady flavor of the vanilla orchid (Vanilla spp., Orchidaceae) has been prized for centuries. Vanilla orchids were first cultivated by Totonac farmers in what is now Veracruz, Mexico, where they were used to flavor chocolate. Their fruits were important in the commerce of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas, and they are still important in modern commerce today. The two common commercially-grown species are Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla tahitensis. Extracts and phytochemicals derived from the fruits of these species, including the compound vanillin, are important ingredients in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and fragrance industries. Vanilla fruits contain about 3% vanillin, but at least 35 additional phytochemicals contribute to the famous vanilla fragrance and flavor.¹ For this reason, natural vanilla extracts are still preferred over artificial flavoring made from wood pulp or chemical precursors. Mexico once had a monopoly on the world’s vanilla supply, but today commercial vanilla is produced in Central America, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Uganda.¹ The annual harvest of vanilla fruits or “beans” ranges in the thousands of tons.¹ However, the commercial vanilla species have a narrow genetic base and are susceptible to pathogens. Hidden away in the Amazonian blackwater palm swamps of Southeastern Peru, wild vanilla orchids may hold the key to the preservation of their cultivated cousins, as well as the threatened palm swamps.

In 2002 Dr. John Janovec and Amanda Neill, co-directors of the Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program (AABP) at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), made an interesting discovery in the blackwater palm swamps, known as aguajales, of Southeastern Peru. Wild vanilla orchids were climbing the trunks of the aguaje palm trees (Mauritia spp. Arecaceae) that give the swamps their name. Dr. Janovec describes vanilla’s abundance in the palm swamps as being “like weeds.” The AABP team quickly became interested in the potential of the vanilla orchids as non-timber forest products. Could these wild vanilla fruits be produced and harvested in the natural setting of these palm swamp forests of Madre de Dios, Peru? The first step in answering this question was to document the diversity, distribution, and natural history of the vanilla orchids in these swamps. Therefore, Texas Christian University graduate student Ethan Householder was recruited to lead the field work necessary for a better understanding of these wild vanilla species.

The AABP is a 4-year-old program that is part of BRIT’s research department. BRIT’s mission is “…to conserve our natural heritage by deepening our knowledge of the plant world and achieving public understanding of the value plants bring to life.” This BRIT research program is located in Fort Worth, Texas, and in Peru (BRIT-Peru). AABP’s goal is to use science, education, and technology to directly support the conservation of the threatened wetlands, rainforests, and cloud forests of Southeastern Peru. Householder’s research, documenting the natural history of wild Amazonian vanilla, is in alignment with this goal. In collaboration with local field assistants in Peru, Householder has conducted research incorporating GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping, pollination experiments, and examination of factors that affect fruit quality and plant ecology. The AABP team has established a permanent monitoring station in the Los Amigos Conservation Area in Madre De Dios, Peru, near the town of Puerto Maldonado. AABP workers have conducted bimonthly phenological monitoring of selected plants and have monitored the natural regeneration of vanilla orchids and aguaje palm trees along several kilometers of permanent trails and within plots nested along the trails. This research comprises the essential first steps in developing aguajal vanilla orchids as viable economic plants.

The AABP team has found four species of wild vanilla in Madre de Dios, Peru. The most commercially viable species is Vanilla pompona ssp. grandiflora, a vine that climbs its host plant using aerial roots. It is a fast-growing orchid with elegant yellow flowers and an alluring scent. An individual plant can grow at a rate of one meter per month to a mature height of 30 meters. This epiphytic orchid primarily reproduces through clonal reproduction, when an individual is cut or broken, producing two or more new individuals. The flowers are pollinated by male euglossine bees that are attracted to the scent of the flowers, which mimic the scent of bee pheromones.

Hand-pollination of the wild vanilla orchids ensures a consistent crop of vanilla beans. The AABP team has hand-pollinated over 500 wild vanilla orchids and cured the resulting vanilla beans. Curing the vanilla beans is an essential process that increases levels of vanillin and the other phytochemicals that contribute to the characteristic vanilla flavor and scent. Householder believes that the laboriousness of hand-pollination, coupled with the high market value of vanilla beans and extracts, could lead to an alternative source of income for local Peruvians. Currently, many Peruvian families are forced to rely on destructive gold-mining and tree-cutting for their main source of income. Cultivating vanilla orchids would provide an incentive to protect the threatened aguajales, essential components of the Amazonian ecosystem. In addition, this research helps to support the conservation plan for the Los Amigos Conservation Area, a private conservation concession run by the Amazonian Conservation Association (ACA) and its sister organization in Peru, the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA).

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