Theobroma cacao priests lancing their ear lobes (autosacrifice) and covering the cacao with blood as a suitable sacrifice to the gods. The cacao beverage as ritual was used only by men, as it was believed to be toxic for women and children. The first European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with Moctezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519. Cortés and others noted the vast quantities of this beverage the Aztec emperor consumed, and how it was carefully whipped by his attendants beforehand. Examples of cacao
Orto Botanico di Parma umbellatus", "Caltha palustris", "Cyperus papyrus", "Eichhornia crassipes", "Elodea canadensis", "Iris pseudacorus", "Lemna minor", "Nymphaea alba", "Pistia stratiotes", and "Sagittaria sagittaefolia", as well as mature trees including ginkgo, magnolia, "Pinus nigra subsp. laricio", and "Ulmus campestris". Its glass houses contain a tropical section with "Dracaena fragrans", "Ficus elastica", "F. benjamina", "Monstera deliciosa", "Tamarindus indica", "Theobroma cacao", etc., as well as epiphytes, orchids, and tropical fruits; and a desert house containing a variety of cacti and succulents. Orto Botanico di Parma The Orto Botanico di Parma, also known as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Parma, is a botanical garden maintained by the