26 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



' Family. Sterculiaceae . 



IMPORTANT GENERA. The most important plant is 

 the Cocoa Tree (Theobroma Cacao). It is a low tree 

 with short-stalked, firm, brittle, simple leaves of 

 large size, oval shape, and dark green colour. The 

 young leaves are of a bright red colour, and, as in many 

 tropical trees, hang limply downwards. The flowers 

 are borne on the main stem or the older branches, and 

 arise from dormant axillary buds (Cauliflory). Each 

 petal is bulged up at the base, narrows considerably 

 above this, and ends in an expanded tip. The form of 

 the reddish flowers is thus somewhat urn-shaped with 

 five radiating points. The pentalocular ovary has 

 numerous ovules in each loculus. As the fruit develops, 

 the soft tissue of the septa extends between the single 

 seeds ; the ripe fruit is thus unilocular and many- 

 seeded. The seed-coat is filled by the embryo, which 

 has two large, folded, brittle cotyledons." 



The last sentence conveys an erroneous impression. 

 The two cotyledons, which form the seed, are not 

 brittle when found in nature in the pod. They are 

 juicy and fleshy. And it is only after the seed has re- 

 ceived special treatment (fermentation and drying) to 

 obtain the bean of commerce, that it becomes brittle. 



Varieties of Theobroma Cacao. 



As mentioned above, the pods and seeds of Theo- 

 broma Cacao trees show a marked variation, and in 

 every country the botanist has studied these variations 

 and classified the trees according to the shape and 

 colour of the pods and seeds. The existence of so many 

 classifications has led to a good deal of confusion, and 

 we are indebted to Van Hall for the simplest way of 

 clearing up these difficulties. He accepts the classi- 

 fication first given by Morris, dividing the trees into 

 two varieties Criollo and Forastero : 



