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Vanilla polylepis is a climbing orchid species in the plant family Orchidaceae. It is native to tropical Africa, with a range spanning the width of the continent, from Kenya to Angola. It grows in high-altitude evergreen and swamp forests between 1,200–1,500 m (3,900–4,900 ft) and is often found growing on trees bordering rivers and waterfalls. Plants produce bright green, fleshy stems, 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) in diameter, with large, glossy leaves. White, aerial roots form on the stems allowing the orchids to attach themselves to trees for support. As with many orchids, they produce showy flowers, which in the case of V. polylepis are white and yellow with a pink to maroon blotch. This differentiates them from similar species. They have seedpod-like fruits, called capsules, which produce a distinctive aroma as they dry.
V. polylepis grows in various humid forest habitats between 1,200–1,500 m (3,900–4,900 ft) such as swamp forests, riverine forests, forested ravines and at the edges of evergreen forests. They occasionally grow in humid, scrubby woodland. They are also thermophiles, meaning that they favour warm conditions.
V. polylepis has no current uses outside of horticulture. However, as a close relative to the commercially important Vanilla planifolia, V. polylepis could be considered a "crop wild relative". A crop wild relative is wild plant species that is closely related to a cultivated crop plant. Lately crop wild relatives have received a lot of scientific attention as potential sources for crop improvement. For example, if V. polylepis were to possess useful traits related to pest resistance or drought tolerance, these traits could be artificially bred into Vanilla planifolia. This would produce stronger vanilla crops, better equipped to cope with factors like climate change and invasive pests.
Vanilla andamanica · Vanilla aphylla · Leafy Vanilla · Chamisso's Vanilla · Vanilla humblotii · Vanilla imperialis · Vanilla moonii · Vanilla odorata · Leafy vanilla · Vanilla phalaenopsis · Vanilla pilifera · Vanilla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vanilla polylepis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
