What is Cacao tree?
{{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 = [[Malvaceae]] | genus = ''[[Theobroma]]'' | species = '''''T. cacao''''' | binomial = ''Theobroma cacao'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]] }} The '''cacao tree''' is a small [[tree]] originally grown in [[tropical]] [[South America]]. It only grows to 4 to 8 meters in height. Its seeds are called [[cocoa]] and are used to produce [[cocoa butter]], chocolate drinks, and [[chocolate]]. Now the trees are grown in [[plantation]]s in many tropical countries. ==Cultivation== Cacao is planted on over 70000 square kilometres worldwide with 40% of production coming from [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Ghana]], and [[Indonesia]]. Each country produces about 15%, with smaller amounts coming from [[Brazil]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Cameroon]]. A tree begins to bear [[fruit]] when it is 4 or 5 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&nbsp;kg of cocoa paste. [[File:Cacao-pod-k4636-14.jpg|thumb|left|Cocoa beans in a cacao pod]] There are three main [[cultivar|cultivar groups]] of cacao beans used to make cocoa and chocolate. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo Group, the cocoa [[bean]] used by the [[Maya people|Maya]]. Only 10% of chocolate is made from the 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]]. Cacao beans were commonly used as [[currency]] in [[Pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]]. In some areas, such as [[Yucatán]], th