The French made similar attempts on the Réunion and the Dutch in Indonesia. Seeds and seedlings illegally exported from Mexico grew healthy plants but did not bear fruit. The problem was not solved until 1841 when accidentally, a 12-year-old Edmond Albius pollinated the flower by hand. That is when Belgian botanist Charles Morren noticed the unusual structure of the vanilla flower. As it turned out, only a few species of bees and some hummingbirds, found only in Mexico, could pollinate it.
