Vanilla was cultivated as a flavoring by precolumbian Mesoamerican peoples; at the time of their conquest by Hernándo Cortés, the Aztecs used it as a flavoring for chocolate. Europeans became aware of both chocolate and vanilla around the year 1520. Natural vanillin is extracted from the seed pods of Vanilla planifola, a vining orchid native to Mexico, but now grown in tropical areas around the globe. Madagascar is presently the largest producer of natural vanillin. As harvested, the green seed pods contain vanillin in the form of its ?-D-glycoside; the green pods do not have the flavor or odor of vanilla. After being harvested, their flavor is developed by a months-long curing process.