60 COCOA CHAP. 



which produced commercial cocoa, and it is mentioned in 

 several handbooks as being cultivated in Colombia and 

 Mexico. This, however, is an error. The seeds have 

 no commercial value, as they contain only a very small 

 quantity of theobromine, viz. 0*1395 per cent (accord- 

 ing to an analysis by Mannich *), while the seeds of 

 commercial cocoa contain from 1 to 2 per cent. Hart 2 

 and Preuss, 3 having observed the species in Central 

 America, reported that it has no commercial value 

 and is not cultivated. However, on account of the 

 sweetish and agreeable taste of the seeds, which resemble 

 nuts or almonds, the tree is appreciated by the in- 

 habitants of the countries where it grows wild. In 

 Ecuador the wild-growing " cacao bianco," as it is 

 called, is always saved when the forest is cleared, and 

 so the plantations contain a good number of trees of 

 this sort. The same is the case in Mexico, Guatemala 

 and Nicaragua. 



T. bicolor is spread over whole Central America 

 from Ecuador to Mexico. In Mexico, Guatemala and 

 Nicaragua it is known under the name " pataste," 

 " pataschte " or " patastle " ; in Ecuador it is called 

 " cacao bianco " ; in Colombia, " bacao," according to 

 Preuss ; while Hart reports that he found it indigenous 

 in the province of Yeragua, where it is known as 

 " tigre cacao, " on account of the rank smell of the 

 seeds. 



T. bicolor is characterised by its hanging branches 

 (Fig. 19) and large leaves, greyish -coloured on the 

 back ; in the axils appear the small clusters of little 

 reddish flowers (Figs. 10, 11). 



In Ecuador the tree attains a considerable size and 

 grows as high as 39 feet. 



The large oval-shaped fruits (Fig. 20) have a very 

 thick and hard fruit-wall. They have five prominent 

 ridges, between which are five less prominent ones. 



1 Preuss, Expedition, p. 258. 



2 Hart. Cacao (1911), p. 13 ; Hart, Bulletin No. 56 (1907), p. 289. 

 3 Preuss, Expedition, p. 258. 



