ABSTRACT
The diversity of the genus Vanilla Plumier ex Miller appears complex at many levels. First, its taxonomy is confused and species delimitation is unclear. Second, at the intraspeci c level, genetic diversity is often not correlated with phenotypic diversity. At the moment, a considerable amount of data is available, providing new insights on the possible evolutionary processes responsible for the evolution and diversi cation of the genus. These processes are detailed and their implication for vanilla conservation and improvement are discussed.
