History of chocolate in Spain In modern Spain, traces of the history of the drink can be seen in the chocolate companies, the chocolate shops and museums. The [Mesoamerican] origin of the cacao tree (to which Linnaeus gave the scientific name Theobroma cacao in 1753) is disputed by modern botanical historians since there are different hypotheses about the region from which it comes. Thus, some theories point to the Amazon region; however, it is estimated that the plant also grew in the wild in other parts of Americas, including the plains of the Orinoco Basin. It is very likely that the Olmecs knew the cacao
Madeira-Tapajós moist forests excelsa" and "Duckeodendron cestroides". At one time the endemic tree "Polygonanthus amazonicus" grew near Maués, the western limit for the emergent "Dinizia excelsa" and the eastern limit for the "Theobroma cacao". The Tapajós basin is the eastern limit of "Theobroma microcarpum". The "Physocalymma scaberrima" has red hardwood used by furniture makers. The montane forests of the upper Marmelos and middle Tapajós hold "Hevea camporum", "Euterpe longibracteata", "Huberodendron ingens" and "Brachynema ramiflorum". Further south in Mato Grosso there are forests in the transition between the Amazon and cerrado biomes. 183 species of mammals have been reported, including 90 bat species and