Theobroma cacao, often known as the cacao tree or cocoa tree, is a small (4″8 m (13″26 ft) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family native to deep tropical Mesoamerica. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and chocolate. In 2018, the Ivory Coast was the world’s leading cocoa bean producer, accounting for 37% of worldwide production.

With a length of 10″40 cm (3.9″15.7 in) and a breadth of 5″20 cm (2.0″7.9 in), the leaves are alternate, entire, and unlobed.

Cauliflory is a blooming plant with clusters of flowers that appear immediately on the stem and older branches. With a pink calyx and a diameter of 1″2 cm (0.39″0.79 in), the flowers are small. The floral formula is K5 C5 A(5°+52) G, which is used to represent the structure of a flower using numbers (5). Cacao blossoms are pollinated by small insects known as Forcipomyia midges, which are members of the Forcipomyiinae subfamily. Cacao blooms are pollinated by small flies known as Forcipomyia midges, which are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera). It was observed that pollinating Theobroma cacao using the natural pollinator Forcipomyia midges generated more fruit than pollinating with artificial pollinators. When fully ripe, the cacao pod is an oval fruit about 15″30 cm (5.9″11.8 in) long and 8″10 cm (3.1″3.9 in) wide, developing yellow to orange and weighs around 500 g. (1.1 lb). The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, often known as “beans,” that are embedded in a white pulp. In certain regions, the pulp is used to produce refreshing juice, smoothies, jellies, and cream, while the seeds are utilized to make chocolate. Until the twenty-first century, the fermented pulp was wasted, but now it may be distilled into an alcoholic beverage. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40″50%) in the form of cocoa butter. The primary component in the fruit is theobromine, a stimulant similar to caffeine.

T. cacao may be found in profusion from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin. There were originally two theories about its domestication: one said that there were two domestication sites, one in Mexico’s Lacandon Jungle and the other in lowland South America. On the other hand, recent investigations of DNA diversity patterns suggest that this is not the case. One thousand two hundred forty-one trees were gathered and classified into ten genetic groups in one study. This research also found that representatives of several genetic clusters initially arose about 5000 years ago near Iquitos in modern-day Peru and Ecuador, leading to the formation of the Nacional cocoa bean variety. This discovery suggests that T. cacao was domesticated in this area, most likely for the pulp that surrounds the beans and is eaten as a snack or fermented into a mildly alcoholic beverage. Using DNA sequences and comparing them to data derived from climate models and known conditions suitable for cacao, one study refined the view of domestication, linking the area of greatest cacao genetic diversity to a bean-shaped area that encompasses Ecuador, the border between Brazil and Peru, and the southern part of the Colombian”Brazilian border. Climate models reveal that even towards the end of the last ice age, 21,000 years ago, when cacao habitat was at its most limited, this location remained suitable for the species, offering a safe haven.

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