ABSTRACT
The principal vanilla species of commerce (“Mexican vanilla” or “Bourbon vanilla” [Vanilla planifolia G. Jackson]) is a rare orchid native to Mexico and Central America (Cameron and Soto Arenas, 2003; Lubinsky et al., 2008; Portères, 1954). The naturally fragrant and cured fruits of V. planifolia were used in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica by various cultures, most prominently by the Totonac of northern Veracruz (the Papantla region), the Aztec of Central Mexico, and the Maya of the tropical lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize (Bruman, 1948; Lubinsky, 2007; Rain, 2004). These cultures employed vanilla as a medicinal (stomachic) and avoring agent, usually in the form of an ingredient to spice cacao beverages.
