Edmond Albius (c. 1829 – 9 August 1880) was a horticulturalist from

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. Born into slavery, Albius became an important figure in the cultivation of

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 ...

. At the age of 12, he invented a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids quickly and profitably. Albius's technique revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla and made it possible to profitably grow ''

Vanilla planifolia ''Vanilla planifolia'' is a species of vanilla orchid native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. It is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names include flat-leaved vanilla, ...

'' away from its native habitat (

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Early life

Albius was born in St. Suzanne,

. His mother, an enslaved woman, died during his birth. The colonist keeping Edmond in slavery was Féréol Bellier Beaumont.

Vanilla pollination

French colonists brought vanilla beans to Réunion and nearby

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

in the 1820s with the hope of starting production there. However, the vines were sterile because no insect would pollinate them. In 1837, Charles Morren, a professor of botany at the University of Liège in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, published a method of hand-pollination, but his technique was slow and required too much effort to make cultivating vanilla a moneymaking proposition. Albius's enslaver, Mr. Beaumont, taught him the basics of botany, including how to fertilize flowers. In 1841, Albius invented a method to quickly pollinate the vanilla orchid using a thin stick or blade of grass and a simple thumb gesture. Using the stick or grass blade, field hands lift the rostellum, the flap that separates the male

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

from the female stigma, and then, with their thumbs, smear the sticky

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

from the anther over the stigma. Albius's manual pollination method is still used today, as nearly all vanilla is pollinated by hand. After Albius's discovery, Réunion became for a time the world's largest supplier of vanilla. French colonists used Albius's technique in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

to cultivate vanilla, and Madagascar remains the world's chief vanilla producer. Noted French botanist and plant collector

Jean Michel Claude Richard Jean Michel Claude Richard (16 August 1787 – 1868) was a noted French botanist and plant collector active in Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion, and a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. Richard was born in Volon, Haute-Saône. He ...

falsely claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier.

Later life

In gratitude for – and in recognition of – his discovery, locals on Réunion attempted (unsuccessfully) to obtain a reward or a government stipend for Albius. In 1848, France outlawed slavery in its colonies, and Albius left the

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

for St. Denis, where he worked as a kitchen servant. He adopted ''Albius'' as his new surname from ''alba'' "white" in reference to the vanilla orchid's colour. He was convicted of stealing jewelry and sentenced to ten years in prison, but the sentence was commuted after five years when the governor granted him clemency in light of his enormous contribution to vanilla production in Réunion. Albius died in poverty in St. Suzanne in 1880.

In the media

Albius' story is explored in "The Enslaved Teen Who Cracked Vanilla’s Secret", an episode of ''Ideas'' on CBC Radio. Also in 2023 the French- Réunionese novelist Gaëlle Bélem published an award-winning historical novel ''Le fruit le plus rare : ou la vie d'Edmond Albius'' based on Albius's life. The story is also told on the BBC 'World's Table' from January 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albius, Edmond Vanilla People from Réunion of African descent Slaves from Réunion Horticulturists from Réunion 1820s births 1880 deaths 19th-century slaves