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Vanilla × Tahitensis
''Vanilla ''×'' tahitensis'' is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid Orchidaceae, orchid in the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla''. It was Species description, first described by the botanist John William Moore (botanist), John William Moore in 1933 from Raiatea in the Society Islands, where it was found growing on trees, having escaped plant, escaped from cultivation. History ''Vanilla'' × ''tahitensis'' is a polyploid that is a cross between ''Vanilla planifolia'' and ''Vanilla odorata''. This hybridisation may have happened naturally or inadvertently in the period 1350-1500 in tropical America, though it is listed as an artificial hybrid in Plants of the World Online (POWO). It was used by the Aztecs and the flavour proved popular with the Spaniards. Hernán Cortés brought vanilla pods to Europe where they were grown in greenhouses, and cultivation was attempted in various tropical locations. Seeds from Madagascar were taken to Tahiti in 1848 by the French Admiral Ferdinand-Alphonse H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridization, which include genetic and morph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish explorers and conquistadors who began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Born in Medellín, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortés chose to pursue adventure and riches in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an ''encomienda'' (the right to the labor of certain subjects). For a short time, he served as ''alcalde'' (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, which he partly funded. His enmity with the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cué ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollination, hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanilla Production In French Polynesia
Vanilla production contributes to the local economy of French Polynesia. Although it was a major export crop after its introduction by the French in 1848, vanilla is no longer a significant export product. Vanilla was first introduced to French Polynesia by French colonizers as an export crop. Later, it became an important cash crop in the development of the island's economy. In the early 20th century, production was much greater than it is today, with 150-200 tons produced annually and plantations employing a sizable percentage of the population. Over the years, its production has been influenced by several factors and has declined from a high of 200 tons to a 2013 yield of 60 tons. The largest concentration of the vanilla variety ''Vanilla × tahitensis'' (Tahitian vanilla) is situated in the Society Islands. The island of Taha'a, known as the "Vanilla Island" because of its pervasive aroma of vanilla, produces about 80% of all French Polynesia's vanilla. Background ''Vanilla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanillic Acid
Vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid) is a dihydroxybenzoic acid derivative used as a flavoring agent. It is an oxidized form of vanillin. It is also an intermediate in the production of vanillin from ferulic acid. Occurrence in nature The highest amount of vanillic acid in plants known so far is found in the root of '' Angelica sinensis'', an herb indigenous to China, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Occurrences in food Açaí oil, obtained from the fruit of the açaí palm ('' Euterpe oleracea''), is rich in vanillic acid (). It is one of the main natural phenols in argan oil. It is also found in wine and vinegar. Metabolism Vanillic acid is one of the main catechins metabolites found in humans after consumption of green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4-Hydroxybenzoic Acid
4-Hydroxybenzoic acid, also known as ''p''-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), is a monohydroxybenzoic acid, a phenolic derivative of benzoic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that is slightly soluble in water and chloroform but more soluble in polar organic solvents such as alcohols and acetone. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid is primarily known as the basis for the preparation of its esters, known as parabens, which are used as preservatives in cosmetics and some ophthalmic solutions. It is isomeric with 2-hydroxybenzoic acid, known as salicylic acid, a precursor to aspirin, and with 3-hydroxybenzoic acid. Natural occurrences It is found in plants of the genus ''Vitex'' such as '' V. agnus-castus'' or '' V. negundo'', and in ''Hypericum perforatum'' (St John's wort). It is also found in '' Spongiochloris spongiosa'', a freshwater green alga. The compound is also found in ''Ganoderma lucidum'', a medicinal mushroom with the longest record of use. '' Cryptanaerobacter phenolicus'' is a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanillin
Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the ethanolic extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used more often than natural vanilla extract as a flavoring in foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. Vanillin and ethylvanillin are used by the food industry; ethylvanillin is more expensive, but has a stronger note. It differs from vanillin by having an ethoxy group (−O−CH2CH3) instead of a methoxy group (−O−CH3). Natural vanilla extract is a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Artificial vanilla flavoring is often a solution of pure vanillin, usually of synthetic origin. Because of the scarcity and expense of natural vanilla extract, synthetic preparation of its predominant component has long been of interest. The first commercial synthesis of vanillin began with the more readily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vine
A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Daydon (1928). ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent'', 4th ed. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. In parts of the world, including the British Isles, the term "vine" usually applies exclusively to grapevines, while the term "climber" is used for all climbing plants. Growth forms Certain plants always grow as vines, while a few grow as vines only part of the time. For instance, poison ivy and bittersweet can grow as low shrubs when support is not available, but will become vines when support is available. A vine displays a growth form based on very long stems. This has two purposes. A vine may use rock exposures, other plants, or other supports for growth rather than investing energy in a lot of supportive tissu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanilla No Tahiti
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not autogamous, so pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from which the vanilla spice is obtained. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. Noted French botanist and plant collector Jean Michel Claude Richard falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. By the end of the 20th century, Albius was considered the true discoverer. Three major species of vanilla currently ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin
Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin (2 September 1796 – 10 January 1864), French admiral, was born in Pont-l'Évêque, Normandy. He was the nephew of Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, a successful rear admiral in the French Navy of the Napoleonic era. Early career Hamelain went to sea in 1806 as cabin boy with his uncle, Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, on the frigate '' Vénus'' in the era of Napoleon and the French Empire. The ''Vénus'' was part of the French squadron in the Indian Ocean during the Mauritius Campaign of 1809-1811, and young Hamelin had an opportunity of seeing much active service. She, in company with another and a smaller vessel, captured the English frigate ''Ceylon'' in 1810, but was immediately afterwards captured herself by the '' Boadicea'', under Commodore Josias Rowley (1765–1842). Young Hamelin was a prisoner of war for a short time. His identification as François seems to be in error. Career after the First French Empire fell He returned to France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
