Vanilla, 
^  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(.      July,  1875. 
a  creeper  ;  for  which  reason  they  grow  most  frequently  upon  walls  or 
at  the  roots  of  trees,  or  else  upon  props  or  the  like  where  they  are 
supported.  They  have  round  stalks,  disposed  in  knots  like  the  sugar 
cane  ;  from  each  knot  there  puts  forth  large  thick  leaves,  about  a  fin- 
ger's length,  which  are  as  green  as  the  stalk,  and  fall  off  or  wither 
away,  as  the  great  plantain  does,  after  which  come  pods  that  are  green 
at  first,  yellowish  afterwards,  and  grow  browner  according  as  they 
ripen." 
Originally  a  native  of  Eastern  Mexico,  it  was  in  early  times  used 
by  the  natives  to  flavor  their  chocolate.  It  was  brought  to  Europe  by 
the  Spaniards,  but  little  seems  to  have  been  known  about  it  or  its  uses 
till  the  middle  or  perhaps  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Pomet  says,  however,  that  the  "  Vanilla's  are  much  used  in  France  for 
making  up  chocolate,  and  sometimes  to  perfume  snuff," — the  former  being 
at  the  present  time  one  of  its  chief  applications,  but  the  latter,  so  far 
as  we  know,  having  quite  died  out.  Many  varieties  of  vanilla  are 
known  in  commerce,  but  as  of  old,  the  Mexican  sort  is  considered  the 
best.  At  one  time,  Vanilla  aromatica^  Swartz,  was  supposed  to  be  the 
plant  from  which  most,  if  not  all,  the  vanilla  of  commerce  was  pro- 
cured. Pereira  mentions  five  species  as  probably  contributing  "  some 
of  the  vanilla  of  commerce,"  namely,  V.  planifolia^  Andrews,  V.  aro- 
matica^  Swartz,  V.  guianensis^  Splitberg,  V.  palmarum^  Lindl. ,  and  V, 
pompona^  Schiede.  By  some  authors  V,  sylvestris^  Schiede,  and  V.  sativa^ 
Schiede,  have  also  been  considered  good  species  yielding  some  of  the 
best  Mexican  vanilla.  Dr.  Pereira,  however,  considered  them  as  va- 
rieties of  V.  planifolia.  M.  Delteil,  in  the  pamphlet  before  alluded  to, 
refers  Mexican  vanilla  to  the  following  species  :  V.  sativa^  sylvestris^ 
planifolia^  2in^  pompona ;  Guiana  and  Surinam  to  V.  guianensis  \  Bahia 
to  V.  palmarum  ;  and  that  from  Brazil  and  Peru  to  V.  aromatica.  The 
most  recent  authority,  however,  and  a  very  trustworthy  one,  namely, 
the  "  Pharmacographia,"  of  Professor  Fliickiger  and  the  late  Mr. 
Hanbury,  gives  the  botanical  origin  of  vanilla  simply  as  V.  planifolia^ 
Andrews,  and  refers  to  no  other  species.  Though  indigenous  to  Mex- 
ico, vanilla  is  cultivated,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  remarks, 
in  various  parts  of  tropical  America,  and  has  been  successfully  intro- 
duced into  the  Mauritius  and  Reunion,  from  whence  large  quantities 
are  annually  imported.  Java  also  grows  vanilla  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent. To  the  cultivator  it  is  a  remunerative  crop  in  situations  where 
climate  and  atmospheric  conditions  are  suited  to  it.    It  is  very  easy  of 
