dietary substance yielded by
the seeds of several small trees belonging to the genus _Theobroma_, of
the natural order Sterculiaceae. The whole genus, which comprises twelve
species, belongs to the tropical parts of the American continent; and
although the cocoa of commerce is probably the produce of more than one
species, by far the greatest and most valuable portion is obtained from
_Theobroma Cacao_. The generic name is derived from [Greek: theos] (god)
and [Greek: broma] (food), and was bestowed by Linnaeus as an indication
of the high appreciation in which he held the beverage prepared from the
seeds, which he considered to be a food fit for the gods.

The common cacao tree is of low stature, seldom exceeding 25 ft. in
height, but it is taller in its native forests than it is in cultivated
plantations. The leaves are large, smooth, and glossy, elliptic-oblong
and tapering in form, growing principally at the ends of branches, but
sometimes springing directly from the main trunk. The flowers are small,
and occur in numerous clusters on the main branches and the trunk, a
very marked peculiarity which gives the matured fruit the appearance of
being artificially attached to the tree. Generally only a single fruit
is matured from each cluster of flowers. When ripe the fruit or "pod" is
elliptical-ovoid in form, from 7 to 10 in. in length and from 3 to 4-1/2
in. in diameter. It has a hard, thick, leathery rind of a rich
purplish-yellow colour, externally rough and marked with ten very
distinct longitudinal ribs or elevations. The interior of the fruit has
five cells, in each of which is a row of from 5 to 12 seeds embedded in
a soft delicately pink acid pulp. Each fruit thus contains from 20 to 50
or more seeds, which constitute the raw cacao or "cacao beans" of
commerce.

[Illustration: Branch of Cocoa Tree, with Fruit in section, much
reduced.]

The tree appears to have been originally a native of the coast lands of
the Gulf of Mexico and tropical South America as far south as the basin
of the Amazon; but it can be cultivated in suitable situations within
the 25th parallels of latitude. It flourishes best within the 15th
parallels, at elevations ranging from near the sea-level up to about
2000 ft. in height. It is now cultivated in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, New Granada, Venezuela, Surinam,
Guiana, and in many of the West Indian islands, particularly in
Trinidad, San Domingo, Grena