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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae}}{{For|the city in Brazil|Theobroma, Rondônia}}{{More citations needed|type=plant|date=December 2009}}{{Automatic taxobox|image = Cacao.jpeg|image_caption = Theobroma cacao fruit|display_parents = 2|taxon = Theobroma! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution

Carl Linnaeus>L.HTTP://WWW.ARS-GRIN.GOV/CGI-BIN/NPGS/HTML/GENUS.PL?12064 >TITLE=GENUS: THEOBROMA L.	DATE=5 JUN 2003	ACCESS-DATE=9 DECEMBER 2010, |type_species = Theobroma cacao	Carl Linnaeus>L.|subdivision_ranks = Species|subdivision = See text|synonyms = Cacao Mill.Tribroma O.F.Cook}}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.{{Citation |last1=Genovese |first1=Maria Inés |title=Theobroma cacao and Theobroma grandiflorum: Bioactive Compounds and Associated Health Benefits |date=2017 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54528-8_15-1 |work=Bioactive Molecules in Food |pages=1–22 |editor-last=Mérillon |editor-first=Jean-Michel |access-date=2023-03-21 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi= 10.1007/978-3-319-54528-8_15-1|isbn=978-3-319-54528-8 |last2=Barros |first2=Helena Rudge de Moraes |editor2-last=Ramawat |editor2-first=K.G.}}The seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), the best known species of the genus, are used for making chocolate. Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), mocambo (Theobroma bicolor) and capacui (Theobroma speciosum) are also of economic importance. Taxonomy The generic name is derived from the Greek words theos meaning "god"WEB,weblink θεός, Liddell, Henry George, Scott, Robert, A Greek-English Lexicon, Perseus Digital Library, 1940, and broma meaning "food"WEB,weblink ἀ, Liddell, Henry George, Scott, Robert, A Greek-English Lexicon, Perseus Digital Library, 1940, translating to "food of the gods".WEB, Theobroma - an overview {{!, ScienceDirect Topics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/theobroma |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}} Species Species of the genus according to Plants of the World Online {{As of|2023|February}}:WEB, Theobroma L. - Plants of the World Online, Plants of the World Online,weblink 2023-02-06, {| class="wikitable sortable"
	Theobroma angustifolium {{small>DC.}}	Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá
	Theobroma bernoullii {{small>Pittier}}	Panama.
120px)	Theobroma bicolor {{small	|Brazil North, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
120px)	Theobroma cacao {{small	|Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
	Theobroma canumanense {{small>Pires & Fróes ex Cuatrec.}}	Brazil
	Theobroma cirmolinae {{small>Cuatrec.}}	Colombia
	Theobroma gileri {{small>Cuatrec.}}	Colombia, Ecuador
120px)	Theobroma glaucum {{small	|Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
120px)	Theobroma grandiflorum {{small	|Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela
	Theobroma hylaeum {{small>Cuatrec.}}	Colombia, Panamá
120px)	Theobroma mammosum {{small	|Costa Rica, Nicaragua
	Theobroma microcarpum {{small>Mart.}}	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela
	Theobroma nemorale {{small>Cuatrec.}}	Colombia
	Theobroma obovatum {{small>Klotzsch ex Bernoulli}}	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela
	Theobroma simiarum {{small>Donn.Sm.}}	Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panamá
	Theobroma sinuosum {{small>Pav. ex Huber}}	Brazil, Peru
120px)	Theobroma speciosum {{small	|Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela
	Theobroma subincanum {{small>Mart.}}	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
	Theobroma sylvestre {{small>Aubl. ex Mart.}}	Brazil.
	Theobroma velutinum {{small>Benoist}}	Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname

Formerly placed here

• Abroma augustum (L.) L.f. (as T. augustum L.)
• Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (as T. guazuma L.)
• Herrania albiflora Goudot (as T. albiflorum (Goudot) De Wild.)
• Herrania mariae (Mart.) Decne. ex Goudot (as T. mariae (Mart.) K. Schum.)
• Herrania purpurea (Pittier) R. E. Schult. (as T. purpureum Pittier)WEB,weblink GRIN Species Records of Theobroma, Germplasm Resources Information Network, United States Department of Agriculture, 9 December 2010,

(File:Theobroma fruits.jpg|right|thumb|350px|From left to right: T. grandiflorum, T. bicolor, T. speciosum, T. cacao)

Uses

Several species of Theobroma produce edible seeds, notably cacao, cupuaçu, and mocambo. Cacao is commercially valued as the source of cocoa and chocolate.WEB, Cupuassu, Theobroma grandiflorum,weblink 2023-03-21, www.growables.org, 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.

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

• {{Commons category-inline|Theobroma|Theobroma}}
• {{Wikispecies-inline|Theobroma|Theobroma}}

{{Chocolate}}{{Chocolate beverages}}{{Taxonbar|from=Q162078}}{{Authority control}}{{rosid-tree-stub}}{{Byttnerioideae-stub}}