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Gr 3–7—Richards's entry in the "Orca Biography" series centers Edmond Albius, the enslaved Black boy whose botanical discovery revolutionized the vanilla industry to this day. Born in 1829 on a sugar plantation on Réunion Island, Albius was sent at age five to the small plantation of Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont, a skilled botanist who taught Albius everything he knew. At this time, the vanilla plant was flowering elsewhere but only bearing fruit in Mexico, pollinated by bees specific to the region. In 1841, 12-year-old Albius used his aptitude, and a bamboo shard, to shock everyone and successfully hand-pollinate the hermaphroditic va...Log In or Sign Up to Read More