588 



BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Commercial Varieties. In addition to the Mexican and 

 Bourbon beans other varieties are found in the market. Mau- 

 ritius Vanilla occurs in cylindrical pods that are nearly as long 

 as the Mexican variety, but paler in color and less odorous. 



Fig. 256. Vanilla: 3, transverse section of an unripe fruit showing lines of union 

 of the three carpels (a, b, c), line of dehiscence (D), placenta (.t), seeds (S), fibrovascular 

 bundle (g), papillaj (P). i, radial- longitudinal section of the outer part of the pericarp 

 showing epidermis (E), and parenchyma cells with oblique pores (v). 2, tangential- 

 longitudinal section of the outer part of the pericsrn showing cells with oblique pores (v) 

 and spirally thickened bands (So). 4. inner layer of the pericarp showing the very long 

 simple hairs or papillae seen at P in No. 3. After Meyer. 



Tahiti Vanilla, which is produced on the Island of Tahiti and 

 the Hawaiian Islands, occurs in somewhat broader, flattened 

 pods. The pods are nearly as long as the Mexican varietv and 

 sharply attenuated and twisted at the lower portion. The color 



