Theobroma cocoa 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", feed exclusively on "Theobroma cacao". An active ingredient of cacao, theobromine, is named for the genus. 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
Tree from the cinchona tree ("Cinchona") and was for a long time the remedy of choice for the treatment of malaria. Aspirin was synthesised to replace the sodium salicylate derived from the bark of willow trees ("Salix") which had unpleasant side effects. The anti-cancer drug Paclitaxel is derived from taxol, a substance found in the bark of the Pacific yew ("Taxus brevifolia"). Other tree based drugs come from the paw-paw ("Carica papaya"), the cassia ("Cassia spp."), the cocoa tree ("Theobroma cacao"), the tree of life ("Camptotheca acuminata") and the downy birch ("Betula pubescens"). The papery bark of the white birch tree