Edit Plant: Cacao

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'''''Theobroma cacao''''' ([[Mayan languages|Mayan]]: ''kakaw'', [[Nahuatl]]: ''Cacahuatl''), also '''cacao tree''' and '''cocoa tree''', 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. Its seeds are used to make [[cocoa powder]] and [[chocolate]]. 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 River|Amazon]] and [[Orinoco]] [[river]] basins. It requires a humid climate with regular [[rainfall]] and good soil. It is an [[understory]] tree, growing best with some overhead shade. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (4–16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2–8 in) broad. Poisonous and inedible, they are filled with a creamy, milky liquid and taste spicy and unpleasant. The [[flower]]s are produced in clusters directly on the [[Trunk (botany)|trunk]] and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm (1/2–1 in) diameter, with pink calyx. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by [[bees]] ([[Hymenoptera]]) or [[butterflies]]/[[moths]] ([[Lepidoptera]]), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, [[Forcipomyiinae|''Forcipomyia'']] [[midges]] in the order [[Diptera]].<ref>{{cite paper | author = Hernández B, J. | title = Insect pollination of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Costa Rica | publisher = University of Wisconsin | date = 1965 | url = http://orton.catie.ac.cr/cgi-bin/wxis.exe/?IsisScript=orton.xis&expresion=mfn=032019}}</ref> 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 pod contains 20 to 60 [[seed]]s, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50% as [[cocoa butter]]). Their most noted active constituent is [[theobromine]], a compound similar to [[caffeine]]. A tree begins to bear when it is four or five years old. A mature tree may have 6,000 flowers in a year, yet only about 20 pods. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce 1 kg (2.2 lb) of [[cocoa paste]]. ==Cultivation== ===Propagation=== ===Pests and diseases=== Various plant pests and diseases can cause serious problems for cacao production; see: [http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/ ''Illustrated guide to pests and their management'']. *[[Insect]]s **Cocoa [[Miridae|mirids or capsids]] (Worldwide, but especially in [[West Africa]]) **''[[Conopomorpha cramerella]]'' ("Cocoa pod borer" - in S.E. Asia) *[[Fungus|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") *[[Oomycete]]s **''Phytophthora'' spp. ("Black Pod") especially [[Phytophthora megakarya]] in [[West Africa]] *[[Virus]]es **[[CSSV]] * [[Mistletoe]] * See also: [[List of cacao diseases]] *[[Rats]] and other [[vertebrate]] pests ([[squirrel]]s, [[woodpecker]]s, ''etc.'') ==Varieties== There are three main [[cultivar|cultivar groups]] of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate.<ref>[http://www.xocoatl.org/variety.htm All about Chocolate -- Varieties]</ref> The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa bean used by the [[Maya civilization|Maya]]. 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. ==Gallery== <gallery perrow=5> File:Starr 070321-6119 Theobroma cacao.jpg File:Cocoa Pods.JPG File:Theobroma cacao2.jpg File:Tres variedades de cacao.jpg File:Theobroma cacao (red pods - Haiti).jpg File:Theobroma cacao Fruit Linne.jpg File:Starr 070906-8365 Theobroma cacao.jpg File:Starr 070906-8366 Theobroma cacao.jpg File:Theobroma cacao (young cacao pods - Haiti).jpg File:Semillas de cacao.jpg File:Cacao-pod-k4636-14.jpg </gallery> ==References== <references/>    ==External links== *{{wplink}} {{stub}} __NOTOC__

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