There are 626 GBIF records for Vanilla planifolia, which is a startlingly small number for the second most expensive spice in the world. Mexico leads with 100. The United States has 52, almost all of them Hawaii and Florida. Réunion has 43, Madagascar 39, Guadeloupe 33, Costa Rica 30, the Seychelles 25. Photo: marcodiazz, via GBIF (CC0) Madagascar grows a large share of the world’s vanilla and appears in this list below Réunion, a far smaller island.