It is native to Mexico and northern South America,[3] and is one of the sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content.

Vanilla pompona found in the Peruvian Amazon has been tested using HPLC analysis showing a concentration of vanillin content up to 9.88g/100g[4] making it suitable for the food or cosmetic industry.

Its leaves and stems are generally thicker than in V. planifolia and V.

[5] V. pompona is one of the few Vanilla species for which there is definitive identification of the agents responsible for pollination; a study found that males of a medium-sized orchid bee, Eulaema cingulata, remove and transfer pollen of V. pompona in Peru, apparently while they are searching for nectar that the flowers do not possess.

[6] Other bee species visit the flowers, but larger species cannot fit inside to reach the floral reproductive organs, and smaller species do not make physical contact with the stigma; of several observed floral visitors, only E. cingulata was within the necessary size range to accomplish pollen transfer.