Vanilla orchid beauty in Khanh Hoa

Vanilla orchids are a kind of vines of living plants. They are recognized as special plants in the orchid family that are capable of vanilla flavoring in nature.

Vanilla aphylla Blan (Vanilla aphylla Bl.). Vines of this species cling to trees of height about 2-3m. Their bodies are green, nearly 1cm in diameter; petals are light green, about 3cm long; Flower lips have 3-4 red stripes and purple feathers. This species is distributed in Hon Heo (Ninh Hoa), Suoi Cat (Cam Lam). Vanilla without leaves is also recorded with a wide range of distribution in the semi-arid coastal forests of Nam Trung Bo down to Binh Chau Nature Reserve, Ba Ria Vung Tau. (Photo: Vu Ngoc Long)

White vanilla orchid (Vanilla albida Bl.). This species has many branching vines 5-6m long, clinging to trees or shrubs. Their bodies are dark green, 0.7cm in diameter. The elliptical vanilla leaf is slightly narrow, pointed, up to 15cm long. Flowering season of white vanilla orchid is April 2-4. This species is also known as Vanilla yersiniana Guill, in honor of Dr. A.Yersin, who discovered Hon Ba in 1915. White vanilla orchids are often present in moist forests along streams, distributed in the Reserve. nature Hon Ba and Ba Ho (Ninh Hoa) at an altitude of about 300-400m. (Photo: Tran Gioi)

Pink vanilla orchid (Vanilla sp.). This species is also known as Hon Ba vanilla. Pink vanilla usually hangs on woody stems, very long vines over 10m. Orchid leaves are thick, narrow elliptical, nearly 20cm long. Pink vanilla orchids flower in May 3-5. This species has a narrow range, only found in Hon Ba Nature Reserve at an altitude of about 500-700m, present under the canopy of evergreen broadleaf trees. This is a new species of vanilla recorded in Khanh Hoa. (Photo: Tran Gioi)

Vanilla atropogon Schuit, Vanver atropogon Schuit., Aver. & Rybkova. Climbing orchids have a crawling body or crawling, up to 10m long, this species has a dark green color of nearly 1cm in diameter, 7-10cm long internode, has roots in the eyes. Flowering season of this species is around April 2-4. This species was first recorded in 2011 in Hon Ba Nature Reserve, but at that time no scientific data and flower samples were collected. According to Professor Leonid Averyanov (Russia) the leading expert on Vietnamese orchids, the morphology and anatomy of this species is quite similar to the morphological characteristics of Vanilla shenzhenica ZJLiu & SCChen (discovered and described in 2007 in Shenzhen, south of China In April 2013, the team of the Southern Institute of Ecology found and collected this species in the forest near the stream stream adjacent to Vong Phu mountain in Ninh Tay commune, Ninh town. Hoa at an altitude of nearly 700m.

Comparing with related documents, this species has many different characteristics than the vanilla species described and scientists have identified it as a new species of the world. At that time, the research team was expected to name the Vanilla Vong Phu (Vanilla vongphuensis). After the team collected and brought this orchid sample back to Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Thien Tich drew, described in detail and contacted André Schuiteman (Kew Botanical Garden, United Kingdom) and learned that this species is standard. published as Vanilla atropogon Schuit., Aver. & Rybkova - from specimens collected by Dr. Rybkova from Hon Ba. (Photo: Luu Hong Truong)

Large vanilla leaf spread (Vanilla sp.). Their vines grow on woody stalks, which can climb about 8 meters tall, dark green, 1cm in diameter. Until now, unfortunately, researchers have not yet obtained the flower sample of this species in nature. Large vanilla leaves are quite similar to Central vanilla (Vanilla annamica Gagn. Ex Averyanov). This vanilla orchid species is present in the evergreen, mixed broad-leaved evergreen forest with coniferous trees, distributed in Hon Ba top at an altitude of about 1,500m, with very few individuals. (Photo: Tran Gioi)