Cacao
Cacao tree with fruit pods
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Sterculiaceae Genus: Theobroma Species: T. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its Malvales is the name of an order of Flowering plants As circumscribed by APG II -system it includes about 6000 Species within nine Sterculiaceae is a Botanical name for a group of Flowering plants at the rank of family which is now widely considered obsolete Theobroma is a Genus of about 20 species in the family Sterculiaceae or sometimes classified as Malvaceae. cacao
Binomial name
Theobroma cacao L.

Cacao (Theobroma cacao), or the cocoa plant, is a small (4–8 m or 15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or Sterculiaceae is a Botanical name for a group of Flowering plants at the rank of family which is now widely considered obsolete Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of Flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2300 species The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild Theobroma cacao tree. One group of proponents believe wild examples were originally distributed from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin, with domestication taking place both in the Lacandon area of Mesoamerica and in lowland South America. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Recent studies of Theobroma cacao genetics seem to show that the plant originated in the Amazon and was distributed by humans throughout Central America and Mesoamerica. Its seeds are used to make cocoa and chocolate. Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree

The tree is today found growing wild in the low foothills of the Andes at elevations of around 200–400 m (650-1300 ft) in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers ORiNOCO is the brand name that was used for a family of wireless networking solutions by Proxim (previously Lucent) "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there It requires a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to It is an understory tree, growing best with some overhead shade. Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a Forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy. The leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (4-16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2-8 in) broad. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis.

Cacao flowers

The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm (1/2-1 in) diameter, with pink calyx. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, midges in the order Diptera. Bees are flying Insects closely related to Wasps and Ants Bees are a Monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of Insects comprising the sawflies, Wasps Bees and Ants The name refers to A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. Midges comprise many kinds of very small two-winged flies The term does not encapsulate a well-defined taxonomic group but includes animals in several families of Nematoceran True flies are Insects of the Order Diptera ( Greek: di = two and pteron = wing possessing a single pair of The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm (6-12 in) long and 8–10 cm (3-4 in) wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g (1 lb) when ripe. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50% as cocoa butter). Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is the pale-yellow pure edible Vegetable fat of the Cacao bean Their most noted active constituent is theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine. Theobromine, also known as xantheose, which also includes the similar compounds Theophylline and Caffeine. Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline Xanthine Alkaloid that acts as a Psychoactive Stimulant Drug and a mild Diuretic

The scientific name Theobroma means "food of the gods". Theobroma is a Genus of about 20 species in the family Sterculiaceae or sometimes classified as Malvaceae. Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always The word cacao itself derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word cacahuatl, learned at the time of the conquest when it was first encountered by the Spanish. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political Similar words for the plant and its by-products are attested in a number of other indigenous Mesoamerican languages. Mesoamerican languages are the Languages indigenous to the Mesoamerican cultural area which covers southern Mexico, all of Guatemala

History of cultivation

Cultivation, cultural elaboration and use of cacao were extensive and early in Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Studies of the Theobroma cacao tree genetics suggests a domestication and spread from lowland Amazonia, contesting an earlier hypothesis that the tree was domesticated independently in both the Lacandon area of Mexico, and in Amazonia. The cacao tree belongs to the Theobroma genus, in the Sterculiaceae family, that contains 22 species. Today, the most common of the cultivated species is Theobroma cacao, with two subspecies and three forms. Wild cacaos falling into two groups. The South American subspecies spaerocarpum has a fairly smooth melon-like fruit. In contrast, the Mesoamerican cacao subspecies has ridged, elongated fruits. At some unknown early date, the subspecies T. cacao cacao reached the southern lowlands of Mesoamerica and came into wide usage.

Aztec statuary of a male figure holding a cacao pod

The Maya believed that the kakaw (cacao) was discovered by the gods in a mountain that also contained other delectable foods to be used by the Maya. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas According to Maya mythology, the Plumed Serpent gave cacao to the Maya after humans were created from maize by divine grandmother goddess Xmucane (Bogin 1997, Coe 1996, Montejo 1999, Tedlock 1985). Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all those Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature deities and the heroes interacting with these play the main The Feathered Serpent was a prominent deity or supernatural in many Mesoamerican religions and is particularly known as a representation of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl Xmucane and Xpiacoc (alternatively Xumucane and Ixpiyacoc) are the names of the divine grandparents of Maya mythology and the Daykeepers The Maya celebrated an annual festival in April to honor their cacao god, Ek Chuah, an event that included the sacrifice of a dog with cacao colored markings; additional animal sacrifices; offerings of cacao, feathers and incense; and an exchange of gifts. Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all those Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature deities and the heroes interacting with these play the main The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order In a similar creation story, the Mexica (Aztec) god Quetzalcoatl discovered cacao (cacahuatl: "'bitter water"'), in a mountain filled with other plant foods (Coe 1996, Townsend 1992). The Mexica ( Nahuatl: Mēxihcah, meːˈʃiʔkaʔ or Mexicans ( Spanish: Mexicanos) were an indigenous people of the Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. Cacao was offered regularly to a pantheon of Mexica deities and the Madrid Codex depicts priests lancing their ear lobes (autosacrifice) and covering the cacao with blood as a suitable sacrifice to the gods. The Mexica ( Nahuatl: Mēxihcah, meːˈʃiʔkaʔ or Mexicans ( Spanish: Mexicanos) were an indigenous people of the Maya codices (singular Codex) are folding Books stemming from the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic The cacao beverage as ritual were used only by men, as it was believed to be toxic for women and children. Toxicity is the degree to which a substance is able to damage an exposed organism

There are several mixtures of cacao described in ancient texts, for ceremonial, medicinal uses as well as culinary purposes. Some mixtures included maize, chili, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), peanut butter and honey. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Chili powder is a Generic name for any powdered Spice mix composed chiefly of Chili peppers, most commonly either red peppers or cayenne peppers Vanilla is a Flavoring derived from Orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Archaeological evidence for use of cacao, while relatively sparse, has come from the recovery of whole cacao beans at Uaxactun, Guatemala (Kidder 1947) and from the preservation of wood fragments of the cacao tree at Belize sites including Cuello and Pulltrouser Swamp (Hammond and Miksicek 1981; Turner and Miksicek 1984). Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Uaxactun (waʃakˈtun is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands in the present-day department Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Belize (bəˈliːz formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. In addition, analysis of residues from ceramic vessels has found traces of theobromine and caffeine in early formative vessels from Puerto Escondido, Honduras (1100 - 900 B. Theobromine, also known as xantheose, which also includes the similar compounds Theophylline and Caffeine. Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline Xanthine Alkaloid that acts as a Psychoactive Stimulant Drug and a mild Diuretic C. ) and in middle formative vessels from Colha, Belize (600-400 B. C. ) using similar techniques to those used to extract chocolate residues from four classic period (ca. 400 A. D. ) vessels from a tomb at the archaeological site of Rio Azul. Rio Azul is a site of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization in what is now Guatemala. As cacao is the only known commodity from Mesoamerica containing both of these alkaloid compounds, it seems likely that these vessels were used as containers for cacao drinks. This article is about the chemical compounds alkaloids For the Pharmaceutical company in the Republic of Macedonia see Alkaloid (company. In addition, cacao is named in a hieroglyphic text on one of the Rio Azul vessels. Hieroglyph ( Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " or hieroglyphics ( = grc-Grek τὰ ἱερογλυφικά Rio Azul is a site of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization in what is now Guatemala. Cacoa was also believed to be ground by the Aztecs and mixed with tobacco for smoking purposes.

The first Europeans to encounter cacao were Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1502, when they captured a canoe at Guanaja that contained a quantity of mysterious-looking “almonds,”. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands of Honduras, and is in the Caribbean. The first real European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with Montezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Cortez and others noted the vast quantities of this beverage that the Aztec emperor consumed, and how it was carefully whipped by his attendants beforehand. Examples of cacao beans along with other agricultural products were brought back to Spain at that time, but it seems that the beverage made from cacao was introduced to the Spanish court in 1544 by Kekchi Maya nobles brought from the New World to Spain by Dominican friars to meet Prince Philip (Coe and Coe 1996). Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Order of Preachers ( Latin: Ordo Praedicatorum) after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is A Friar is a member of one of the Mendicant orders. Friars and monks Friars differ from Monks in that they are called to a life of poverty in service Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598 Within a century, the culinary and medical uses of chocolate had spread to France, England and elsewhere in Western Europe. Culinary art is the Art of Cooking. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to or connected with cooking or Kitchens A culinarian Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' Demand for this beverage led the French to establish cacao plantations in the Caribbean, while Spain subsequently developed their cacao plantations in their Philippine colony (Bloom 1998, Coe 1996). Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Spanish East Indies The story of the Philippines from 1521 to 1898 is an exciting epic of how a handful of Christian missionaries Spanish conquistadores The Nahuatl-derived Spanish word cacao entered scientific nomenclature in 1753 after the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus published his taxonomic binomial system and coined the genus and species Theobroma ("food of the gods") cacao. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for

Traditional pre-Hispanic beverages made with cacao are still consumed in Mexico. These include the Oaxacan beverage known as tejate. The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), in Spanish phonemically /oa'xaka/ named for its largest city, is one of the Tejate is a Maize and Cacao beverage traditionally made in Oaxaca, Mexico, originating from pre-Hispanic times

Currency system

Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined At one point the Aztec empire received a yearly tribute of 980 loads (xiquipil in nahuatl) of cacao, in addition to other goods. Each load represented exactly 8000 beans. ^[1] The buying power of quality beans was such that 80-100 beans could buy a new cloth mantle. The use of cacao beans as currency is also known to have spawned counterfeiters during the Aztec empire. ^[2]

In some areas, such as Yucatán, cacao beans were still used in place of small coins as late as the 1840s. Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Cultivation

Cacao is cultivated on over 70,000 km² (27,000 mi²) worldwide. Statistics from FAO [1] for 2005 are as follows:

• Production in Int $1000 have been calculated based on 1999-2001 international prices

Cacao seed in the fruit or Pocha

Young Cacao plantation

Cocoa production has increased from 1. 5 million tons in 1983-1984 to 3. 5 million tons in 2003-2004, an increase that has almost entirely been due to the expansion of the production area rather than to yield increases. Over 90% of the world’s cacao is grown by smallholder farmers, who overwhelmingly make little or no use of fertilizers and agro-chemicals[2].

A tree begins to bear when it is four or five years old. In one year, when mature, it may have 6,000 flowers, but only about 20 pods. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce around 1 kg (2. 2 lb) of cocoa paste. Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made

There are three main cultivar groups of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar ^[3] The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa bean used by the Maya. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas Only 10% of chocolate is made from Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is made using beans of the Forastero Group. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate.

For details of processing, see cocoa. Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made Major cocoa bean processors include: Cadbury, Hershey's, Nestle and Mars, all of which buy in cocoa beans via various sources. Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made The Hershey Company ( known until April 2004 as the Hershey Foods Corporation and commonly called Hershey's, is the largest Chocolate manufacturer Nestlé is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland Mars Incorporated is a world-wide manufacturer of Confectionery, pet food and other food products with US$ 21 billion in annual sales in 2006

Pests

Various plant pests and diseases can cause serious problems for cacao production; see: Illustrated guide to pests and their management.

• Insects
  • Cocoa mirids or capsids (Worldwide, but especially in West Africa)
  • Conopomorpha cramerella ("Cocoa pod borer" - in S. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described The large and diverse insect family Miridae contains the plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs, and may also be known as capsid bugs. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. E. Asia)
• Fungi
  • Moniliophthora roreri ("Frosty Pod Rot")
  • Moniliophthora perniciosa ("Witches' Broom")
  • Ceratocystis cacaofunesta ("Mal de machete") or ("Ceratocystis wilt")
  • Verticillium dahliae
  • Oncobasidium theobromae ("Vascular streak dieback")
• Oomycetes
  • Phytophthora spp. A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ Moniliophthora roreri is a plant pathogen Moniliophthora perniciosa is a plant pathogen A Witch's broom is a disease or deformity in a Woody plant, typically a Tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed Verticillium dahliae is a plant pathogen It causes verticillium wilt in the plant leaves causing them to curl and discolor Oncobasidium theobromae is a plant pathogen Oomycetes also known as Water molds (or water moulds: see spelling differences) are a group of filamentous unicellular Heterokonts physically ("Black Pod") especially Phytophthora megakarya in West Africa
• Viruses
  • CSSV
• See also: List of cacao diseases

• Rats and other vertebrate pests (squirrels, woodpeckers, etc. Phytophthora megakarya is a plant pathogen West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. A virus (from the Latin virus meaning Toxin or Poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable Cacao swollen-shoot virus (CSSV is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Caulimoviridae. This article is a list of diseases of Cacao ( Theobroma cacao) Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes )

Notes

References

• Coe, Sophie D. (1994). America's First Cuisines. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-71155-7.  
• Coe, Sophie D. ; and Michael D. Coe (1996). Michael D Coe (born 1929 is an American Archaeologist, Anthropologist, epigrapher and Author. The True History of Chocolate. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01693-3.  
• Dienhart, John M. (1997). The Mayan Languages- A Comparative Vocabulary (electronic version (PDF)). Odense University. Odense University, now Syddansk Universitet Odense (or SDU Odense in abbreviated form has been part of the University of Southern Denmark since 1998 of Retrieved on 2007-02-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German
• McNeil, Cameron (editor) (2006). Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. ISBN 0-8130-2953-8.  
• Bergmann, John (1969). "The Distribution of Cacao Cultivation in Pre-Columbian America". Annals of the Association of American Geographers 59: 85-96.  
• Motamayor, J. C. et al. (2002). "Cacao domestication I: the origin of the cacao cultivated by the Mayas". Heredity 89: 380-386.  
• A. Frison, M. Diekman and D. Nowell (2000). Cacao, FAO / IPGRI Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Germplasm No. 20. ACRI - FAO - IPGRI.  
• A. B. Eskes and Y. Efron, editors (2006). Global Approaches to Cocoa Germplasm Utilization and Conservation. CFC - ICCO - IPGRI.  

External links

• Theobroma cacao at the Encyclopedia of Life
• World Cocoa Foundation - Supporting Sustainable Cocoa Farming
• The food of the Gods – the nature, growth, cultivation, manufacture and history of Cocoa, by Brandon Head, from Project Gutenberg
• Malaysian Cacao Board
• International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
• Theobroma Cacao – the Tree of Life
• TransFair USA Fair Trade Cocoa Program
• Illustrated guide to pests and their management
• Plant Diseases Imperil Chocolate Production - Science Friday on NPR, 2006-06-09
• Photographs of cacao plants (detail)
• Theobroma Gallery (Stewart R. Encyclopedia of Life ( EOL) is a free online collaborative encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1 Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Science Friday ( SciFri) is a weekly call-in Talk show that is part of National Public Radio 's Talk of the Nation radio program Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Hinsley)
• Gourmet chocolates to boost incomes and preserve biodiversity
• Cacao
• Concerted effort to conserve Cacao diversity