cacao

Also known as cacao tree, cacao species, cocoa plant, Theobroma cacao, chocolate tree

tree native to tropical South America producing cocoa beans - the source plant of cacao and chocolate

OverviewAI-generated

Theobroma cacao is a species within the genus Theobroma and the family Malvaceae. It is native to the Amazon rainforest and has been owned by Indigenous peoples of South America. The taxon is described in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary and was discovered in Mexico in 1502 by Christopher Columbus. It is pollinated by Ceratopogonidae and Forcipomyia squamipennis.

The plant is a source of cocoa bean, cocoa powder, and chocolate. Its uses include afforestation, food, medicinal plant applications, and psychoactive drug production. The genome has been sequenced. The subject is referenced by 835 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 49 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, iNaturalist, PubMed, Encyclopedia of Life, Plants of the World, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Long-tailed Duck

Genus

PhylumArthropoda
ClassMalacostraca
OrderAmphipoda
FamilyStilipedidae

Habitatmarine

Conservationvulnerable

Observations25,699

Chile Central

via · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 2
Family: Malvaceae
Collections: ASU
Recorded in: Guatemala

iDigBio →

Research

5,119 papers

Cacao Swollen Shoot Viruses in Ghana.ReviewPlant disease · 2023Gyamera EA, Domfeh O, Ameyaw GADOI: 10.1094/PDIS-10-22-2412-FE
The History of Cacao and Its Diseases in the Americas.ReviewPhytopathology · 2020Díaz-Valderrama JR, Leiva-Espinoza ST, Aime MCDOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-05-20-0178-RVW
Cacao biotechnology: current status and future prospects.ReviewPlant biotechnology journal · 2018Wickramasuriya AM, Dunwell JMDOI: 10.1111/pbi.12848
Theobroma cacao L. cultivar CCN 51: a comprehensive review on origin, genetics, sensory properties, production dynamics, and physiological aspects.ReviewPeerJ · 2022Jaimez RE, Barragan L, Fernández-Niño M et al.DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12676
Theobroma cacao: Somatic Embryogenesis.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Guillou C, Verdier DDOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2485-2_6
Epidemiology and Diagnostics of Cacao Swollen Shoot Disease in Ghana: Past Research Achievements and Knowledge Gaps to Guide Future Research.ReviewViruses · 2023Ameyaw GA, Domfeh O, Gyamera EDOI: 10.3390/v16010043
Chocolate Under Threat from Old and New Cacao Diseases.ReviewPhytopathology · 2019Marelli JP, Guest DI, Bailey BA et al.DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-12-18-0477-RVW
Impact of Coffee and Cacao Purine Metabolites on Neuroplasticity and Neurodegenerative Disease.ReviewNeurochemical research · 2019Camandola S, Plick N, Mattson MPDOI: 10.1007/s11064-018-2492-0

via PubMed

~18 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Theobroma cacao (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small (6–12 m (20–39 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. Its seeds—cocoa beans when dried and fermented—are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa powder, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2022 was Côte d'Ivoire.

Description

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cacao” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.