Vanilla the Rabbit

Vanilla is a flavoring. The plant it grows on is a vine. It grows by climbing other plants, like trees. It is derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. The pure (man-made) form of the flavoring is known as vanillin. The main species harvested for vanilla is called Vanilla planifolia.

The plant was brought back to Europe by the Spanish. In Mesoamerica it was a well-regarded spice.

Today, most of the flavoring is done in chemical laboratories.