Vanilla plant, Carphephorus odoratissimus spring basal rosettes
Plants give us so much and ask so little in return. There is really no mystery as to just what plants offer and how they are best used. One need simply pay attention to the fruit, scent, color and growth habit of the plant then read about or discuss traditional ethnobotanical uses with those knowledgeable of the plant’s identification and history. There is an abundance of information available today concerning ethnobotanical uses, safety and efficacy of most described plants in our surroundings, including those available through nurseries. Simply put, good excuses don’t exist for not integrating plants and their benefits into our lives today.
For example, a common perennial native, Vanilla plant, Carphephorus odoratissmus, is one of those plants we really should get to know, for many reasons. Unless in bloom, vanilla plant, also known as vanilla-leaf, is one of those herbs we may be aware of on a subconscious level but never pay close attention to except when in bloom. Those brilliant, late summer purple flowers almost always catch our eyes and turn our heads.
Vanilla plant's leaves contain coumarins
I say vanilla plant is one of those plants most of us are aware of on a subconscious level because of personal experience. Judy and I spend as much of our time as possible out in nature absorbing inspiration, health and enjoyment. Nature and wildflower immersions are some of my most effective stress relief therapies. Walking through nature builds stamina too in addition to relaxing my mind.
Preserving stamina is important to me because I know future surgeries will be required to repair additional portions of my still torn aorta. When out on a nature walk, whether it’s a premonition or maybe my sense of smell is working extra-well, I will usually know when and where a colony of vanilla plant is growing long before coming into view of the leafy plants.
Vanilla plant is about ready to bloom in this August photo
That’s because vanilla plant leaves contain coumarins, substances that drift across breezes and evoke thoughts of freshly mowed lawns and a touch of sweet spice. Yes, I always know the vanilla plant is growing along the trail long before I ever see its foliage. The plant’s sweet spice fragrance usually surprises me in the most unexpected of natural areas, those where the dirt is sandy and nutrients under the pine canopy are limited.
On my hikes I’ve come over time to know where the trail side vanilla plants grow; in the dunes, between clumps of saw palmetto and up through fallen flatwood pine needles. Sometimes my thoughts are elsewhere and I’m not expecting the aromatic, breeze laden spice emitted by the plant but mostly now I look forward to waves of fragrant pleasure around the bend where vanilla plant grows. It's not just me either; for many people unknowingly acknowledge vanilla plant’s presence with surprised and whispered words such as, ‘the air smells so fresh out here today’.
Vanilla plant about to bloom
Once one becomes familiar with vanilla plant’s foliage (it is easy enough to identify the plant) the enjoyment begins to take on even more intensity as we begin to look for the herb so as to crush the alternate stem clasping leaves and release novel breezes of spicy freshness. Some say the odor is strongest when the leaves are dry, yet to my sense of smell even the green leaves emit powerful notes of freshness. Written and oral history both have documented many ethnobotanical uses of the vanilla plant. Dried leaves have been used to make teas and on a much more economically significant scale, vanilla plant has been harvested by the ton to blend with tobacco as a spicy flavoring.
Vanilla plant’s sweet scents also offer clues to the herb’s medicinal importance. The plant's fresh aroma is attributed to it's hefty coumarin content. Synthesized in the plant from sunshine, water, CO2 and dirt, coumarins possess anticoagulation properties in mammals and the aromatic substance may prevent vitamin K factors from completing blood clotting. Plants such as sweet clover, cherries, tonga beans (the bean used to make Mexican vanilla), and others contain coumarins too.
The potential for bleeding from larger amounts of coumarin ingestion has led to FDA warning statements being associated with its culinary use. Vanilla plant’s coumarin content makes this plant’s use for human consumption potentially problematic from a governmental regulatory perspective. But if there were ever a societal breakdown t where pharmaceuticals were off the market then the respective governmental regulatory perspective would be meaningless.
Fermented sweet clover, Melilotus spp. is another plant rich in coumarins and the actual basis for the invention of the anti-coagulant pharmaceutical, warfarin. Cattle dying from blood loss in Wisconsin were discovered to have been eating fermented sweet clover. Ultimately, warfarin, an important anticoagulant medicine was developed from the fermented clover coumarins. Sweet clover, Milelotus spp., however is classified in a different genus than the common red clover, Trifolium spp. Yet red clover too contains coumarins and has been the documented cause of bleeding issues in humans. Most importantly here is the fact that nature does provide us with coumarins, the basis for modern day anticoagulants, from a variety of different plant species, including vanilla plant, Carphephorus odoratissimus.
Today most anticoagulants are synthetically created in laboratories around the world. Yet plant phytochemicals can also offer an alternative approach if necessary. Unfortunately plant extracts are also difficult to standardize for concentration and may lead to harmful dose administrations. Personally, I believe we humans taking pharmaceutical medicines should understand the basic chemistry behind the drugs we ingest, including the ethnobotanical history of the plants from which the drugs were first isolated. Part of that understanding involves the realization, like the recent losartan recall and trade embargos, manufactured drugs may not always be available.
Many people depend on anticoagulants to treat stroke, arrhythmias and to maintain and care for manufactured heart valves. A sudden stoppage of warfarin availability could be catastrophic from a health perspective for a large population segment. Of course the chances of a class of widely used pharmaceuticals becoming unavailable are relatively small. Yet with the uncertainty we’ve seen emerge from the Covid 19 pandemic and the aforementioned drug recalls, there does exist a very real level of stress associated with the worry of ‘what will I do if my warfarin is no longer available’.
I probably will never turn to vanilla plant for answers to an anticoagulant shortage. More than likely warfarin will always be available to pick up from the local pharmacy. But for me, a ‘type A’ individual who always is analyzing risk management issues, simply encountering the fresh scent of vanilla plant coumarins on my nature walks, affords me hope that if I was faced with a lack of anticoagulants for my artificial heart valve, vanilla plant may be a hope in time of crises. Nature always offers answers to most questions.
Vanilla plant’s scent and coumarin content are usually the strongest in late summer, when blooming occurs and as leaves begin to dry on the stem. Swaths of bright purple blooms cover the plant with resplendent royal hues typically found on late summer flowering plants. The color purple is often associated with summer time flowering. In addition to vanilla plant, plants that bloom summer purple include; the closely related deer tongue, blazing star, purple coneflower, clematis, passionflower, ageratum, verbena, chaffweeds, spotted beebalm, thistles and salvias.
Purple blooms are also interwoven into the schedule of shortening days and lengthening twilight. As the summer daylight hours begin to diminish in length, purple wildflowers seem to proliferate across the landscapes. Moreover, purple wildflowers find a place in mythology with unicorns, fairies and various traditional priests, gods and priestesses expressing royal themes cloaked in purple. Of course the supple, rich hues and textures of vanilla plant’s blossoms call out to be an eye-catching part of any floral arrangement. I have picked my share of Carphephorus flowers over the years, even if just to hang on our SUV’s sun visor for a short time.
There are also many good reasons for leaving vanilla plant’s flowers in the flatwoods. Butterflies, moths, bees and other pollinators are attracted to vanilla plant in search of nectar. Though the species is lovely and I may be tempted to plant around the home garden (and I may yet), Carphephorus grows best in a fire impacted ecology. Botanical studies have shown how vanilla plant, along with other Carphephorus species, actually flower longer when growing in wildfire impacted habitat.
Vanilla plant is just one of the many important native wildflowers and plants found in most of our local forests and conservation areas. Because of the plant’s strong coumarin leaf fragrance and striking wildflower beauty, vanilla plant is easy to recognize. I am grateful for the coumarins in this plant, its functional beauty and special place in our surrounding ecology.
I may never have to turn to vanilla plant to extract coumarins for anticoagulant use, however just knowing I could if I had too makes me appreciate this marvelous scented and beautiful flowering species even more. Hope is always nearby in the flatwoods.
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