''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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South America. '' Theobroma cacao'', the best known species of the genus, is used for making chocolate. Cupuaçu (''Theobroma grandiflorum'') and Mocambo (''Theobroma bicolor'') are also of some economic importance.

Taxonomy

The generic name is derived from the Greek words ''theos'' meaning "god" and ''broma'' meaning "food" translating to "food of the gods".

Selected species

*''

Theobroma angustifolium ''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 So ...

'' DC. *''

Theobroma bicolor ''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'' (family Malvaceae), which also contains the better-known ''Theobroma cacao'' (coco ...

'' Humb. & Bonpl. – mocambo *'' Theobroma cacao'' L. – cacao *''

Theobroma canumanense ''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 S ...

'' Pires & Froes ex Cuatrec. *'' Theobroma grandiflorum'' (Willd. ex Spreng.) K.Schum. – cupuaçu *''

Theobroma mammosum ''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 S ...

'' Cuatrec. & Léon *''

Theobroma microcarpum ''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 S ...

'' Mart. *''

Theobroma obovatum ''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 So ...

'' Klotzsch ex Bernoulli *''

Theobroma simiarum ''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 S ...

'' Donn.Sm. *''

Theobroma speciosum ''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. See Supplementary MaterialsTable S2 Name Sp ...

'' Willd. ex Spreng. – cacaui *''

Theobroma stipulatum ''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 So ...

'' Cuatrec. *''

Theobroma subincanum ''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 S ...

'' Mart. *''

Theobroma sylvestre ''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 S ...

'' Mart.

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 an characteristic and unusual appearance. It is widely dis ...

'' (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 30–40cm in diameter. I ...

'' Lam. (as ''T. guazuma'' L.) *''

Herrania albiflora ''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 ...

'' 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 ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the la ...

'' (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 Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

, cupuaçu, 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. ''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 ''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, is named for the genus.

References

External links

* * Malvaceae genera {{Byttnerioideae-stub