Cacao - Chocolate Tree
5 Feet Tall - 15 Gal Pot
 
CHOCOLATE TREE
Common Name: Chocolate Tree
Botanical Name: Theobroma cacao
Origin: Tropical America
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15'
Varieties: Red and Yellow
Season: October - January
Damage Temp: 32F
 
This beautiful tree has large, dark green leaves that shade the fruit pods which grow directly from the trunk and branches. The flesh is eaten as a dessert, and the seeds are the raw material of commercial chocolate. Hot chocolate can be made by drying, roasting and grinding the seeds, and then adding milk. Chocolate "beans" were used as money by the Maya Indians of Central America. The red pods are typically larger and have more abundant flesh.