Vanilla imperialis is an orchid (family Orchidaceae) found from Sierra Leone eastward to Ethiopia and southward to Tanzania and Angola. It is a root-climbing vine to about 65 feet (twenty meters) in height, with a root emerging just above each leaf. Although not as tall as the common vanilla (V. planifolia), it is up to a full inch (2.54 centimeters) in thickness; the most massive Vanilla species, and the largest of all African orchids.[1] The inflorescence is an unbranched raceme up to six inches (15 centimeters) long. The flowers are six inches (16 centimeters) wide with the white or yellow petals and sepals three inches (8 cm) long by 0.75 inch (1.8 cm) in width. The labellum is 2.5 inches (six cm) in length with the far end flared and pink or purple. Most of the labellum is fused to the column, forming a tube.[2] Each flower is open for at least two days( Chambers says seven days).[3]
^Sendetta, Feyera (2006). "Vanilla imperialis - A new Record...etc". Kew Bulletin. 61 (3): 439–441.
^Summerhayes, V. S. "Plants of the World - Vanilla imperialis Kraenzl". Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^Chambers, Alan B. (April 23, 2020). "Vanilla Species Highlite: Vanilla Imperialis". Retrieved June 4, 2022.
Vanillaimperialis is an orchid (family Orchidaceae) found from Sierra Leone eastward to Ethiopia and southward to Tanzania and Angola. It is a root-climbing...
comparatively large for an orchid. This species looks similar to Vanillaimperialis but can be distinguished by a series of scales on the lip and purple...
species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species). It also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), the type genus Orchis, and many commonly cultivated...
attract and collect these bees for study. One such study with Euglossa imperialis, a nonsocial orchid bee species, has shown that the presence of cineole...