Theobroma Theobroma 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 South America. The generic name is derived from the Greek words θεός ("theos"), meaning "god," and βρῶμα ("broma"), meaning "food". It translates to "food of the gods." "Theobroma cacao", the best known species of the genus, is used for making chocolate. Several species of "Theobroma" produce edible seeds, notably cacao, cupuaçu, and mocambo. Cacao is commercially valued as the source of
Theobroma cacao Amelonado, Criollo, Nacional, Contamana, Curaray, Cacao guiana, Iquitos, Marañon, Nanay, and Purús. The generic name is derived from the Greek for "food of the gods"; from θεός ("theos"), meaning "god", and βρῶμα ("broma"), meaning "food". The specific name "cacao" is the Hispanization of the name of the plant in indigenous Mesoamerican languages. The cacao was known as "kakaw" in Tzeltal, K'iche' and Classic Maya; "kagaw" in Sayula Popoluca; and "cacahuatl" in Nahuatl as "bean of the cocoa-tree". "T. cacao" is widely distributed from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin. There were originally two hypotheses about its domestication; one said that