''Theobroma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the mallow family,

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. It was previously classified as a member of

Sterculiaceae 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 Sterculioide ...

, which has been incorporated into Malvaceae to make it

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. It contains roughly 20 species of small

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s native to the

tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...

s of Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The seeds of the cacao tree (''

Theobroma cacao ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. Its seedscocoa beansare used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropi ...

''), the best known species of the genus, are used for making chocolate.

Cupuaçu ''Theobroma grandiflorum'', commonly known as cupuaçu, also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, or copoazu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Native and common throughout the Amazon basin, it is naturally cultivated in the jung ...

(''Theobroma grandiflorum''), mocambo (''Theobroma bicolor'') and capacui (''Theobroma speciosum'') are also of economic importance.

Taxonomy

It was published by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753.Linné, Carl von, & Salvius, Lars. (1753). Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... (Vol. 2, p. 782). Impensis Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358803 The lectotype ''

'' was designated in 1929.

Etymology

The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words ''theos'' meaning "god" and ''broma'' meaning "food" translating to "food of the gods".

Species

Species of the genus according to

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

Formerly placed here

*''

Abroma augustum ''Abroma augustum'', sometimes written ''Abroma augusta'', Devil's cotton, is a species of '' Abroma'' (Sterculiaceae, or Malvaceae in some classifications). It has dark red flowers with a characteristic and unusual appearance. It is widely dist ...

'' (L.) L.f. (as ''T. augustum'' L.) *''

Guazuma ulmifolia ''Guazuma ulmifolia'', commonly known as West Indian elm or bay cedar, is a medium-sized tree normally found in pastures and disturbed forests. This flowering plant from the family Malvaceae grows up to 30m in height and 30–40 cm in diame ...

'' Lam. (as ''T. guazuma'' L.) *'' Herrania albiflora'' Goudot (as ''T. albiflorum'' (Goudot) De Wild.) *''

Herrania mariae ''Herrania mariae'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to South America - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. I ...

'' (Mart.) Decne. ex Goudot (as ''T. mariae'' (Mart.) K. Schum.) *''

Herrania purpurea ''Herrania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Byttnerioideae. It is closely related to the genus ''Theobroma'', which includes cacao. As of 1999, there were about 17 species in ''Herrania''. Species Species inc ...

'' (Pittier) R. E. Schult. (as ''T. purpureum'' Pittier) Theobroma fruits

Uses

Several species of ''Theobroma'' produce edible seeds, notably cacao,

cupuaçu ''Theobroma grandiflorum'', commonly known as cupuaçu, also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, or copoazu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Native and common throughout the Amazon basin, it is naturally cultivated in the jung ...

, and mocambo. Cacao is commercially valued as the source of

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

. ''Theobroma'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s of the genus ''

Endoclita ''Endoclita'' is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 60 described species found in eastern and southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Species *'' Endoclita aboe'' – India *'' Endoclita absurdus'' – China *'' Endoclita ...

'', including '' E. chalybeatus'', '' E. damor'', '' E. hosei'' and '' E. sericeus''. The larvae of another moth, ''

Hypercompe muzina ''Hypercompe muzina'' is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Charles Oberthür in 1881. It is found from Texas and Mexico to Brazil and Colombia. The larvae have been recorded feeding on ''Theobroma cacao ''Theobroma cacao'' ...

'', feed exclusively on ''Theobroma cacao''. An active ingredient of cacao,

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to ...

, is named for the genus.

References

External links

* * Malvaceae genera {{Byttnerioideae-stub