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In the wild, in Mexico, vanilla is pollinated by one particular species of bee, that only lives in Mexico. Even there, commercial producers rely on hand-pollina
by Finnucane 7y ago
In the wild, in Mexico, vanilla is pollinated by one particular species of bee, that only lives in Mexico. Even there, commercial producers rely on hand-pollination.
- julienchastang 7y agoInterestingly vanilla originates from Mexico and not Madagascar. The plant was introduced to Madagascar for cultivation in the 19th century.
- gboss 7y agoIt's amazing really all of the plants that originated from indigenous Mexican cultivation. Corn, tomatoes, chili peppers, squash, chocolate, vanilla, avocado, and more! The fact that Italians didn't have peppers nor the Irish having potatoes until after columbus always blows my mind. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Crops_originating_from_Mexico https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Crops_originating_f...
- julienchastang 6y agoIndeed. Read "The Columbian Exchange" book by Alfred W. Crosby. Imagine Hungarians without paprika and Indian cuisine without peppers. :-)