Cacao 57947 222717579 2008-06-30T19:42:22Z Giraffedata 105732 simplify {{twootheruses||the town in French Guiana|Cacao, French Guiana|the Java Virtual Machine|CACAO}} {{Taxobox | name = Cacao | image = Theobroma cacao-frutos.jpeg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Cacao tree with fruit pods | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Malvales]] | familia = [[Sterculiaceae]] | genus = ''[[Theobroma]]'' | species = '''''T. cacao''''' | binomial = ''Theobroma cacao'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] }} '''Cacao''' (''Theobroma cacao'') ([[Mayan]]: ''kakaw'', [[Nahuatl]]: ''Cacahuatl''), or the [[cocoa]] plant, is a small (4–8 m or 15–26 ft tall) [[evergreen]] [[tree]] in the family [[Sterculiaceae]] (alternatively [[Malvaceae]]), native to the deep [[tropical]] region of the Americas. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild ''Theobroma cacao'' tree. One is that wild examples were originally distributed from southeastern [[Mexico]] to the [[Amazon]] basin, with domestication taking place both in the Lacandon area of [[Mexico]] and in lowland South America. But recent studies of ''Theobroma cacao'' genetics seem to show that the plant originated in the Amazon and was distributed by humans throughout Central America and Mesoamerica. Its seeds are used to make [[cocoa]] and [[chocolate]]. The tree is today found growing wild in the low foothills of the [[Andes]] at elevations of around 200–400 m (650-1300 ft) in the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] and [[Orinoco]] [[river]] basins. It requires a humid climate with regular [[rainfall]] and good soil. It is an [[understory]] tree, growing best with some overhead shade. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (4-16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2-8 in) broad. [[Image:Theobroma cacao2.jpg|thumb|left|Cacao flowers]] The [[flower]]s are produced in clusters directly on the [[trunk]] and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm (1/2-1 in) diameter, with pink calyx. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by [[bees]] ([[Hymenoptera]]) or [[butterflies]]/[[moths]] ([[Lepidoptera]]), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, [[midges]] in the order [[Diptera]]. The [[fruit]], called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm (6-12 in) long and 8–10 cm (3-4 in) wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g (1 lb) when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 [[seed]]s, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50% as [[cocoa butter]]). Their most noted active constituent is [[theobromine]], a compound similar to [[caffeine]]. The scientific name ''[[Theobroma]]'' means "[[food]] of the [[deity|gods]]". The word ''cacao'' itself derives from the [[Nahuatl]] ([[Aztec]] language) word ''cacahuatl'', learned at the time of the conquest when it was first encountered by the Spanish. Similar words for the plant and its by-products are attested in a number of other indigenous [[Mesoamerican languages]]. ==History of cultivation== Cultivation, cultural elaboration and use of cacao were extensive and early in [[Mesoamerica]]. Studies of the ''Theobroma cacao'' tree genetics suggests a domestication and spread from lowland Amazonia, contesting an earlier hypothesis that the tree was domesticated independently in both the [[Lacandon]] area of [[Mexico]], and in Amazonia. The cacao tree belongs to the Theobroma genus, in the Sterculiaceae family, that contains 22 species. Today, the most common of the cultivated species is ''Theobroma cacao'', with two subspecies and three forms. Wild cacaos falling into two groups. The South American subspecies spaerocarpum has a fairly smooth melon-like fruit. In contrast, the Mesoamerican cacao subspecies has ridged, elongated fruits. At some unknown early date, the subspecies T. cacao cacao reached the southern lowlands of Mesoamerica and came into wide usage. [[Image:Cacao Aztec Sculpture.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Aztec statuary of a male figure holding a cacao pod]] The [[Maya civilization|Maya]] believed that the ''kakaw'' (cacao) was discovered by the gods in a mountain that also contained other delectable foods to be used by the [[Maya civilization|Maya]]. According to [[Maya mythology]], the [[Plumed Serpent]] gave cacao to the Maya after humans were created from maize by divine grandmother goddess [[Xmucane]] (Bogin 1997, Coe 1996, Montejo 1999, Tedlock 1985). The [[Maya civilization|Maya]] celebrated an annual festival in April to honor their cacao god, '''[[Ek Chuah]]''', an event that included the sacrifice of a [[dog]] with cacao colored markings; additional animal sacrifices; offerings of cacao, feathers and incense; and an exchange of gifts. In a similar creation story, the [[Mexica]] ([[Aztec]]) god [[Quetzalcoatl]] discovered cacao (''cacahuatl'': "'bitter water"'), in a mountain filled with other plant foods (Coe 1996, Townsend 1992). Cacao was offered regularly to a pantheon of [[Mexica]] deities and the [[Madrid Codex]] depicts priests lancing their ear lobes (autosacrifice) and covering the cacao with blood as a suitable sacrifice to the gods. The cacao beverage as ritual were used only by men, as it was believed to be [[toxic]] for women and children. There are several mixtures of cacao described in ancient texts, for ceremonial, medicinal uses as well as culinary purposes. Some mixtures included [[maize]], [[chile powder|chili]], [[vanilla]] ''(Vanilla planifolia)'', peanut butter and honey. [[Archaeological]] evidence for use of cacao, while relatively sparse, has come from the recovery of whole cacao beans at [[Uaxactun]], [[Guatemala]] (Kidder 1947) and from the preservation of wood fragments of the cacao tree at [[Belize]] sites including [[Cuello]] and [[Pulltrouser Swamp]] (Hammond and Miksicek 1981; Turner and Miksicek 1984). In addition, analysis of residues from ceramic vessels has found traces of [[theobromine]] and [[caffeine]] in early formative vessels from Puerto Escondido, Honduras (1100 - 900 B.C.) and in middle formative vessels from Colha, Belize (600-400 B.C.) using similar techniques to those used to extract chocolate residues from four classic period (ca. 400 A.D.) vessels from a tomb at the archaeological site of [[Rio Azul]]. As cacao is the only known commodity from Mesoamerica containing both of these [[alkaloid]] compounds, it seems likely that these vessels were used as containers for cacao drinks. In addition, cacao is named in a [[hieroglyph]]ic text on one of the [[Rio Azul]] vessels. Cacoa was also believed to be ground by the Aztecs and mixed with tobacco for smoking purposes. The first Europeans to encounter cacao were [[Christopher Columbus]] and his crew in 1502, when they captured a canoe at [[Guanaja]] that contained a quantity of mysterious-looking “almonds,”. The first real European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with [[Montezuma]] in the [[Aztec]] capital of [[Tenochtitlan]] in 1519. Cortez and others noted the vast quantities of this beverage that the [[Aztec]] emperor consumed, and how it was carefully whipped by his attendants beforehand. Examples of cacao beans along with other agricultural products were brought back to [[Spain]] at that time, but it seems that the beverage made from cacao was introduced to the Spanish court in 1544 by Kekchi Maya nobles brought from the New World to [[Spain]] by [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] [[friar]]s to meet [[Philip II of Spain|Prince Philip]] (Coe and Coe 1996). Within a century, the [[culinary]] and [[medical]] uses of chocolate had spread to [[France]], [[England]] and elsewhere in [[Western Europe]]. Demand for this beverage led the French to establish cacao [[plantation]]s in the [[Caribbean]], while Spain subsequently developed their cacao plantations in their [[History of the Philippines (1521-1898)|Philippine colony]] (Bloom 1998, Coe 1996). The Nahuatl-derived Spanish word [[cacao]] entered scientific nomenclature in 1753 after the [[Sweden|Swedish]] naturalist [[Linnaeus]] published his taxonomic binomial system and coined the genus and species ''Theobroma'' ("food of the gods") ''cacao''. Traditional [[pre-Hispanic]] beverages made with cacao are still consumed in [[Mexico]]. These include the [[Oaxaca]]n beverage known as [[tejate]]. ==Currency system== Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major [[currency]] system in [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]]n civilizations. At one point the [[Aztec]] empire received a yearly tribute of 980 loads (xiquipil in nahuatl) of cacao, in addition to other goods. Each load represented exactly 8000 beans.<ref> J. Bergmann (1969). </ref> The buying power of quality beans was such that 80-100 beans could buy a new cloth mantle. The use of cacao beans as currency is also known to have spawned counterfeiters during the Aztec empire. <ref>S. Coe (1994).</ref> In some areas, such as [[Yucatán]], cacao beans were still used in place of small coins as late as the 1840s. ==Cultivation== Cacao is cultivated on over 70,000 km² (27,000 mi²) worldwide. Statistics from FAO [http://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.html?lang=en&item=661&year=2005|FAO] for 2005 are as follows: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Rank, Country ! Value ! Production |- ! ! (Int $1000*) ! MT |- | 1 Côte d'Ivoire | 1,024,339 | 1,330,000 |- | 2 Ghana | 566,852 | 736,000 |- | 3 Indonesia | 469,810 | 610,000 |- | 4 Nigeria | 281,886 | 366,000 |- | 5 Brazil | 164,644 | 213,774 |- | 6 Cameroon | 138,632 | 180,000 |- | 7 Ecuador | 105,652 | 137,178 |- | 8 Colombia | 42,589 | 55,298 |- | 9 Mexico | 37,281 | 48,405 |- | 10 Papua New Guinea | 32,733 | 42,500 |- | 11 Malaysia | 25,742 | 33,423 |- | 12 Dominican Republic | 24,646 | 32,000 |- | 13 Peru | 21,950 | 28,500 |- | 14 Venezuela | 13,093 | 17,000 |- | 15 Sierra Leone | 8,472 | 11,000 |- | 16 Togo | 6,547 | 8,500 |- | 17 India | 6,161 | 8,000 |- | 18 Philippines | 4,352 | 5,650 |- | 19 Congo, Rep. | 4,336 | 5,630 |- | 20 Solomon Islands | 3,851 | 5,000 |} * Production in Int $1000 have been calculated based on 1999-2001 international prices [[Image:Cacao-pod-k4636-14.jpg|thumb|left|Cacao seed in the fruit or '''Pocha''']] [[Image:Cacao.jpeg|thumb|right|Young Cacao plantation]] Cocoa production has increased from 1.5 million tons in 1983-1984 to 3.5 million tons in 2003-2004, an increase that has almost entirely been due to the expansion of the production area rather than to yield increases. Over 90% of the world’s cacao is grown by smallholder farmers, who overwhelmingly make little or no use of fertilizers and agro-chemicals[http://www.bioversityinternational.org/Publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1172]. A tree begins to bear when it is four or five years old. In one year, when mature, it may have 6,000 flowers, but only about 20 pods. About 300-600 seeds (10 pods) are required to produce around 1 kg (2.2 lb) of [[cocoa]] paste. There are three main [[cultivar|cultivar groups]] of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate.<ref>http://www.xocoatl.org/variety.htm All about Chocolate -- Varieties</ref> The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa bean used by the [[Maya civilization|Maya]]. Only 10% of chocolate is made from Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than any other bean. The cacao bean in 80% of chocolate is made using beans of the Forastero Group. Forastero trees are significantly hardier than Criollo trees, resulting in cheaper cacao beans. Trinitario, a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero, is used in about 10% of chocolate. For details of processing, see [[cocoa]]. Major [[cocoa]] bean processors include: [[Cadbury]], [[Hershey's]], [[Nestlé]] and [[Mars Incorporated|Mars]], all of which buy in cocoa beans via various sources. ==Pests== Various plant pests and diseases can cause serious problems for cacao production; see: [http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/ ''Illustrated guide to pests and their management'']. *[[Insect]]s **Cocoa [[Miridae| mirids or capsids]] (Worldwide, but especially in [[West Africa]]) **''[[Conopomorpha cramerella]]'' ("Cocoa pod borer" - in S.E. Asia) *[[Fungus|Fungi]] **''[[Moniliophthora roreri]]'' ("Frosty Pod Rot") **''[[Moniliophthora perniciosa]]'' ("[[Witches' Broom]]") **''[[Ceratocystis cacaofunesta]]'' ("Mal de machete") or ("Ceratocystis wilt") **''[[Verticillium dahliae]]'' **''[[Oncobasidium theobromae]]'' ("Vascular streak dieback") *[[Oomycete]]s **''Phytophthora'' spp. ("Black Pod") especially [[Phytophthora megakarya]] in [[West Africa]] *[[Virus]]es **[[CSSV]] * See also: [[List of cacao diseases]] *[[Rats]] and other [[vertebrate]] pests (squirrels, woodpeckers, ''etc.'') ==Notes== {{reflist}} == References == *{{cite book |author={{aut|Coe, Sophie D.}} |year=1994 |title=America's First Cuisines |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=0-292-71155-7}} *{{cite book |author={{aut|Coe, Sophie D.}} |coauthors=and {{aut|[[Michael D. Coe]]}} |year=1996 |title=The True History of Chocolate |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=0-500-01693-3}} * {{cite web |author={{aut|Dienhart, John M.}} |year=1997 |title=The Mayan Languages- A Comparative Vocabulary |format=electronic version ([[PDF]]) |url=http://maya.hum.sdu.dk/proto-forms/cacao.pdf |publisher=[[Odense University]] |accessdate=2007-02-14}} *{{cite book |author={{aut|McNeil, Cameron (editor)}}|year=2006 |title=Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao |location=Gainesville |publisher=University of Florida Press |isbn=0-8130-2953-8}} * {{ cite journal | last= Bergmann | first = John | title = The Distribution of Cacao Cultivation in Pre-Columbian America | journal = Annals of the Association of American Geographers | volume = 59 | pages = 85–96 | year = 1969 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1969.tb00659.x }} * {{ cite journal | last= Motamayor | first = J. C. et al. | title = Cacao domestication I: the origin of the cacao cultivated by the Mayas | journal = Heredity | volume = 89 | pages = 380–386 | year = 2002 | doi = 10.1038/sj.hdy.6800156 }} * {{cite book | author= A. Frison, M. Diekman and D. Nowell | date=2000 | title= Cacao | series= FAO / IPGRI Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Germplasm No. 20 | publisher= ACRI - FAO - IPGRI |url=http://www.bioversityinternational.org/Publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=360 }} * {{cite book | author= A.B. Eskes and Y. Efron, editors | date=2006 | title= Global Approaches to Cocoa Germplasm Utilization and Conservation | publisher= CFC - ICCO - IPGRI |url= http://www.bioversityinternational.org/Publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1172 }} == External links == {{Commons|Theobroma cacao}} *{{eol|16833760|Theobroma cacao}} *[http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org World Cocoa Foundation] - Supporting Sustainable Cocoa Farming *[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16035 The food of the Gods] – the nature, growth, cultivation, manufacture and history of Cocoa, by Brandon Head, from [[Project Gutenberg]] *[http://www.koko.gov.my/lkm/ Malaysian Cacao Board] *[http://www.icco.org International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)] *[http://www.amanochocolate.com/articles/theobromacacao.html ''Theobroma Cacao'' – the Tree of Life] *[http://www.transfairusa.org/content/certification/cocoa_program.php TransFair USA Fair Trade Cocoa Program] *[http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/ Illustrated guide to pests and their management] *[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5474677 Plant Diseases Imperil Chocolate Production] - [[Science Friday]] on [[NPR]], [[2006]]-[[06-09]] *[http://www.chocolatetreebooks.com/treepics.html Photographs of cacao plants (detail)] *[http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Theobroma/gallery.html Theobroma Gallery] (Stewart R. Hinsley) *[http://news.bioversityinternational.org/index.php?itemid=1777 Gourmet chocolates to boost incomes and preserve biodiversity] *[http://www.bioversityinternational.org/Plants_and_Animals/Cacao/index.asp Cacao] *[http://news.bioversityinternational.org/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2007-01 Concerted effort to conserve Cacao diversity] <!-- Interwikis found using http://vs.aka-online.de/globalwpsearch/ --> <!-- Search for Theobroma cacao --> [[Category:Agriculture in Mesoamerica]] [[Category:Chocolate]] [[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]] [[Category:Native crops of Mexico]] [[Category:Native crops of Peru]] [[Category:Sterculiaceae]] [[Category:Natural history of Mesoamerica]] [[Category:Trees of Brazil]] [[ar:شجرة الكاكاو]] [[zh-min-nan:Chi-ku-la̍t-châng]] [[ca:Cacau]] [[da:Kakao]] [[de:Kakaobaum]] [[es:Theobroma cacao]] [[fr:Cacaoyer]] [[hr:Kakaovac]] [[id:Kakao]] [[is:Kakó]] [[it:Theobroma cacao]] [[he:קקאו (עץ)]] [[lt:Tikrasis kakavmedis]] [[ln:Kaukau]] [[ml:കൊക്കോ]] [[ms:Pokok Koko]] [[nah:Cacahuacuahuitl]] [[nl:Cacaoboom]] [[nds-nl:Kakouboom]] [[ja:カカオ]] [[no:Kakaotre]] [[pl:Kakaowiec właściwy]] [[pt:Cacau]] [[qu:Kakawa k'aspi]] [[ru:Какао]] [[sr:Какаовац]] [[fi:Kaakaopuu]] [[sv:Kakao]] [[to:Koko]] [[tr:Kakao]] [[uk:Какао]] [[vi:Cacao]] [[zh:可可]]