I've been waiting for a few months to feature this photograph from Dr. Chris Wolverton of Ohio Wesleyan University. Chris uploaded it via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool (original image – Chris, let me know if it's not alright that I cropped it). Thanks for sharing the snapshot, Chris – much appreciated!
As to why I held off until today to feature it, the answer is in the specific epithet. This is fruit of the cacao plant; the seeds inside are processed to produce cocoa, cocoa butter and, when the two are combined with varying amounts of other ingredients, chocolate.
Presumed to be native to the equatorial mountainsides of the Andes, Theobroma cacao is now cultivated in many tropical regions of the world. The largest producer is the Ivory Coast, accounting for over 40% of production (but at a cost: see “War Inflates Cocoa Prices but Leaves Africans Poor”, an October 30, 2002 article from the New York Times).
For an excellent overview of the economic botany and history of chocolate, check out Exploratorium's “The Sweet Lure of Chocolate”. And, as always, Purdue University's Center for New Crops and Plant Products also has an informed account: Theobroma cacao.
Photography resource link: Views of the Northeast by Ana Licuanan features several galleries of images from the northeastern US. “Enchanted Forests” contains my favourites, but there are plenty of other gems to be found.
I'm glad you could use the image, Daniel. Keep up the great work. My intro botany students have each "adopted" a plant species to characterize this semester, and I've been sending them to BPotD as an example of how it can be done well.
Theobroma cacao - Z10 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Beautiful photograph. This is a 'cauliflorous' flower/fruit that grows directly out of the trunk and main branches of the tree. You can just see it in the photo if you let your eye follow the stalk upwards, it is attached directly to the branch. During my time working in Belize the Maya showed us how to suck the geletin off the seeds. It had a distinct 'chocolate' flavour.
I love your photos!!! I enjoy them everyday. I love that you show so much variety. Excellent.
Great choice! It's nice to see what I'll be eating so much of today.
What's the stringy stuff?
I'd rather see a picture of Theobroma than a long-stemmed thornless, scentless, red rose, that's for sure.
What an interesting photo. I had no idea what the orrigin of my beloved chocolate looked like! Thanks! And now would you happen to have a photo of vanilla beans? I enjoy your pics every day, thank you.
so that's what the "chocolate tree" looks like! I always wondered. Beautiful photo -- thanks to Chris.
Jeremy, not sure what the stringy stuff is - I'm assuming it is grass from a loosely-made nest.
Liz, I'd be happy to do vanilla one day (and cinnamon!), but I don't have access to the plants at the moment. I'll likely see these somewhere during my trip to a few of the gardens / conservatories in the US.
The "stringy stuff" is Spanish-moss, Tillandsia usneoides (L.) L. (Bromeliaceae).
Mystery solved! Thank you, Rodney - I'm very happy to learn something new.
Nice pic, is it possible to get these plants in the U.S?
Hello Mark - I like to keep BPotD as non-commercial as possible, so I'd prefer sourcing plants discussions to be posted to the garden's discussion forums - there is an area for posting questions about sourcing plants.
can i get seeds for this tree?i had a little tree years ago
Kevin - see the comment immediately preceding yours.
Is this growing in an OH greenhouse? Is UBC growing any and, if so, under what conditions?
Thank you!
Beautiful pic. Is it possibleto get these plants in the U.S?