530 POWDERED VEGETABLE DRUGS 



204. (Fig. 196.) VANILLA. Vanilla. U. S. 



Bruised. Powdered. 

 Vanille, G., Fr. 



The unripe fruit of Vanilla planifolia Andrews, Orchidaceae. 



Brown. 



Very fragrant, characteristic vanilla odor. 



Bitter. 



Epidermis of polygonal cells with porous walls, filled with granular 

 substance, and each cell contains a prismatic crystal of vanillin. Hypo- 

 derm of elongated somewhat collenchymatous cells. Parenchyma 

 cells thin-walled collapsed, containing brown coloring matter, oil, and 

 some cells, long acicular crystals of calcium oxalate. Numerous 

 tracheids. (Numerous minute black seeds.) 



Ash 3 per cent. 



Not generally admixed with foreign tissue. There are a number of 

 commercial grades of vanilla. 



The seeds of vanilla are very minute, barely discernible by the 

 naked eye. They are globose in form, of simple structure. In the 

 tropics where the pods are used for flavoring purposes, the seeds 

 have been mistaken for the ova of intestinal parasites by inexperienced 

 clinicians. 



