Cacao

:For the town in French Guiana see Cacao, French Guiana

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Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4-8 m tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae (formerly Sterculiaceae), native to tropical South America, but now cultivated throughout the tropics. Its seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate.

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The tree grows naturally in the low foothills of the Andes at elevations of around 200-400 m in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins; it was introduced to Central America by the Maya people. It requires a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. It is an understorey tree, growing best with some overhead shade. The leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10-40 cm long and 5-20 cm broad.

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The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; they are small, 1-2 cm diameter, with pink calyx. The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15-30 cm long and 8-10 cm wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40-50% as cocoa butter). Their most important active constituent is Theobromine, a compound somewhat similar to Caffeine.

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The scientific name Theobroma means "food of the gods", while cacao probably comes from the Yucatec Maya word cacau.

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Evergreen: :This article is about plant types. For other uses see Evergreen (disambiguation)...

Tree: :This article is about the biological organisms known as trees. For other meanings of the word see tree (disambiguation)....

Malvaceae: Abelmoschus - Okra...

Cacao related Images and Photos (experimental)

Cacao Chocolat	Cacao Chocolate	Tobler Cacao	Consomme Maggi Dejeuner Au Cacao-Gluten
Ripe Cacao Fruit or Pod. Cultivated United Fruit 667 One of Cultivated Clones at Catie Research	Cacao from a Manuscript on Plants and Civilization in the Antilles circa 1686	The Fruit of the Cocoa (Or Chocolate) Plant Theobroma Cacao