Chocolate lowland climate in the narrow band of latitudes where cacao is grown (20 degrees north and south of the equator), the commercial company Mars, Incorporated and the University of California, Berkeley are conducting genomic research in 2017–18 to improve the survivability of cacao plants in hot climates. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, the dried and fermented seeds of the cacao tree ("Theobroma cacao"), a small, 4–8 m tall (15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Recent genetic studies suggest the most common genotype of the plant originated in the Amazon basin and
Cupuaçu Cupuaçu Cupuaçu ("Theobroma grandiflorum"), also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, and copoasu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Common throughout the Amazon basin, it is cultivated in the jungles of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru and in the north of Brazil, with the largest production in Pará. The pulp of the cupuaçu fruit is consumed throughout Central and South America, is the national fruit of Brazil, and is used to make ice creams, snack bars, and other products. Cupuaçu trees usually range from in height, though some can reach . They have brown bark, and the leaves range from