Vanilla is an orchid and a vine that climbs and attaches to tree trunks and other supports by its fleshy roots.

Vanilla originated in South East Mexico and Guatemala. Plantings were tried in many countries, but the delicate orchid never bore fruit. The mystery was not solved until 1836, when a Belgian named Charles Morren found that common insects cannot pollinate the Vanilla orchid. He observed that a tiny bee, the Melipone, which is found only in the Vanilla districts of Mexico, is uniquely equipped to bring the plant to fertilization. The bee did not survive outside Mexico and so Morren developed a method of hand-pollinating Vanilla blossoms.