Theobroma | |
---|---|
Theobroma cacao pod, from which cocoa beans are harvested | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Malvaceae |
Subfamily: | Byttnerioideae |
Tribe: | Theobromateae |
Genus: | Theobroma L. [1] |
Type species | |
Theobroma cacao | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Theobroma is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is sometimes classified as a member of Sterculiaceae. It contains roughly 20 species of small understory trees native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. [2]
The seeds of the cacao tree ( Theobroma cacao ), the best known species of the genus, are used for making chocolate. Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), mocambo (Theobroma bicolor) and capacui (Theobroma speciosum) are also of economic importance.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words θεόςtheos meaning "god" [3] and βρῶμαbroma meaning "food" [4] translating to "food of the gods". [5]
Species of the genus according to Plants of the World Online As of February 2023 [update] : [6]
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
---|---|---|
Theobroma angustifolium DC. | Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá | |
Theobroma bernoullii Pittier | Panama. | |
Theobroma bicolor Bonpl.– mocambo | Brazil North, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela | |
Theobroma cacao L.– cacao | Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela | |
Theobroma canumanense Pires & Fróes ex Cuatrec. | Brazil | |
Theobroma cirmolinae Cuatrec. | Colombia | |
Theobroma gileri Cuatrec. | Colombia, Ecuador | |
Theobroma glaucum H.Karst. | Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | |
Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. ex Spreng.) K.Schum.– cupuaçu | Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela | |
Theobroma hylaeum Cuatrec. | Colombia, Panamá | |
Theobroma mammosum Cuatrec. & J.León | Costa Rica, Nicaragua | |
Theobroma microcarpum Mart. | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela | |
Theobroma nemorale Cuatrec. | Colombia | |
Theobroma obovatum Klotzsch ex Bernoulli | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela | |
Theobroma simiarum Donn.Sm. | Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panamá | |
Theobroma sinuosum Pav. ex Huber | Brazil, Peru | |
Theobroma speciosum Willd. ex Spreng.– cacaui | Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela | |
Theobroma subincanum Mart. | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela | |
Theobroma sylvestre Aubl. ex Mart. | Brazil. | |
Theobroma velutinum Benoist | Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname | |
Several species of Theobroma produce edible seeds, notably cacao, cupuaçu, and mocambo. Cacao is commercially valued as the source of cocoa and chocolate. [8]
Theobroma species are used as food plants by the larvae of some moths of the genus Endoclita , including E. chalybeatus , E. damor , E. hosei and E. sericeus . The larvae of another moth, Hypercompe muzina , feed exclusively on Theobroma cacao.
An active ingredient of cacao, theobromine, is named for the genus.
Theobroma cacao is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, at 2.2 million tons. Its leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.
Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs in the flowering plant family Rosaceae that includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Asia and Africa, There are 340 accepted species. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. Prunus fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the pyrena. This shell encloses the seed, which is edible in some species, but poisonous in many others. Besides being eaten off the hand, most Prunus fruit are also commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying, and the seeds for roasting.
Petroselinum is a genus of two parsley species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to western and southern Europe and northern Africa.
Theobroma grandiflorum, commonly known as cupuaçu, also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, or copoazu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao.
Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genus Ceiba, which has whiter flowers.
Platonia insignis, the sole species of the genus Platonia, is a tree of the family Clusiaceae native to South America in the humid forests of Brazil, Paraguay, parts of Colombia and northeast to Guyana; especially in Amazon Rainforest. Common names include bacuri, maniballi, naranjillo and bacurizeiro.
Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus Sterculia. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae.
Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests.
Abroma is a genus in the family Malvaceae, with one or two species from Asia and Australia. Ambroma is an orthographic variant.
Sideroxylon is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (sideros), meaning "iron", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood."
Moniliophthora roreri is a basidiomycete fungus that causes frosty pod rot disease, one of the most serious problems for cacao production in Latin America. This disease and together with witches’ broom disease and black pod rot constitute the cacao disease trilogy. It causes serious losses in southwestern parts of South America; spores are dry and powdery and are spread easily by water movement, wind, or movement of pods; disease spread is highest during periods of high rainfall.
Chloroleucon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains 11 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and South America to northern Argentina. Some authorities consider it part of the genus Albizia. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρóς (chloros), meaning "green," and λευκός (leukos), meaning "white."
Herrania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Byttnerioideae.
Pseudobombax is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae.
Melia is a genus of flowering trees in the family Meliaceae. The name is derived from μελία, the Greek name used by Theophrastus for Fraxinus ornus, which has similar leaves.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Byttnerioideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Malvaceae.
Theobroma bicolor, known commonly as the mocambo tree, jaguar tree, balamte, or pataxte, among various other common names, is a tree in the genus Theobroma, which also contains the better-known Theobroma cacao. It is found in Central and South America, including stretches of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Theobroma speciosum is an arboriform species of flowering plant in the mallow family native to northern South America. It is the 35th most abundant species of tree in the Amazon rainforest.