It is three-lobed, with the lateral lobes turned up tubularly and fused to the column up to half of the lip length.

[2] Presl mentions that the fruits collected 36 years earlier were still fragrant when he examined them.

Ames also reported that his publication was the first scientific description of the flower of Vanilla odorata.

[8][9] The genus name, Vanilla, derives from Spanish "vainilla" meaning little pod or capsule as a reference to the long, podlike fruits.

Similarly female sweat bees of the species Trigona fulviventris have been observed removing the sticky pulp of the pods in a behavior consistent with gathering nest building materials and taking away seeds in the process.

For an orchid, V. odorata has relatively large seeds and it is likely that it is dependent on distribution by bees or other animals.

Distribution of seeds by other animals is not confirmed in V. odorata, but a study led by D. Adam Karremans found that V. planifolia and Vanilla pompona fruits that fall to the forest floor are consumed and viable seeds are passed by mammals including Tome's spiny rat and the common opossum.

"The habitat quality and quantity are being continuously reduced by land use change, especially for agriculture.