Vanilla planifolia
 

This one has been blooming for a while, so I photographed it before leaving to Redlands... it is still blooming, and won't stop maybe until July... ;)
Sorry for the poor photo quality... I'm not good at photography, and neither is my camera :)

Vanilla planifolia
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...n/S5002099.jpg

-Pat

Is there any scent to it? or is all the vanilla essence in the seed pod once it's processed.

Oh no, there is a scent :D If you go outside, take a very long walk in the sun, come back, take off your socks, and take a wiff, you will have the equivalent scent of a Vanilla planifolia flower... ;)

Pleasing scent only comes from the processed (or just dried) pod.

-Pat

It's curious that Vanilla flowers have a 'blue cheese' scent and some Stanhopeas flowers have a 'vanilla' fragrance! Sometimes orchids are really weird!

Oh great .. The one I have is tagged planifloria .. :(
I never knew vanilla's were stinkers! :evil:

:muahaha:

Love it! :biggrin: Smells like dirty gym socks! Whew!:roll: And some folks come down on Bulbos!:drool: :hmm

Sorry I won't trade for a bulbo phalaenopsis or bulbo echinolabium!
NO WAY! :bad:

Guess they felt like being in the wild they needed to guard themselves against the enemy:scratchhead: ... can't do a stinker, the kid would hate the competition once his shoes come off:evil:

Hmm.. I didn't know that vanilla stinks :shock:

Thanks all! ;)

It is a stinker, but you must get up real close to smell the stink, just like my Paph. kolo's...

I don't know the exact difference in morphology between V. planifolia and V. pompona, but the main difference is the lip. In V. planifolia, it is typically white/green, and can be "bell-shaped". In V. pompona, the lip is typically yellow, and is more "trumpet-shaped". If you see the labellums of each from our photos, the difference is easier to see than to simply describe :) The other main difference is her's (V. pompona) is a lot more attractive! :D

-Pat

Oh OOO I didn't know they were stinkers. Hope mine never blooms :) Gin

...you can always just send yours to me though ;) I have had V. planifolia bloom tons of times, but never really had the urge to smell the flowers, nor take a picture of them (this time, it took me 20+ blooms to realize I need to take a picture! :dumb: )...

-Pat

Go for it Cheryl! :cheer: