Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Theobroma cacao L.

cacao, árbol del cacao, cacaotero, cocoa, cacao tree, cocoa tree

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Malvales

Family
Malvaceae

Genus
Theobroma

Species
cacao

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Theobroma sphaerocarpum A. Chev.

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1985

Mode of introduction: Intentional

Introduction Pathway: Intentional

Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture

Introduced status: Human dependent

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Flores, E. (1985) Censo de Plantas Introducidas desde el Canal de Itabaca hasta Puerto Ayora. Tesis de Ingeniero Forestal, Univ. Técnica Luis Vargas Torres, Esmeraldas: 1-132.
  • Chavez, J. (1993) Diagnostico de la Agricultura y la Ganader¡a en la Provincia de Galapagos. Tesis.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • Stevens, W.D. Ulloa, C., Pool, A., & Montiel, O.M. (2001) Flora de Nicaragua. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: i–xlii, 1–2666.
  • D'Arcy, W.G. (1987) Flora of Panama. Checklist and Index. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 17(1): i–xxx, 1–328; 18(2): i–ix, 1–672.
  • Linares, J.L. (2005) Listado comentado de los árboles nativos y cultivados en la república de El Salvador. Ceiba 44(2): 105–268.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. Nee, M. & Beck, S. G. (2010) Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard.
  • Cuatrecasas, J. (1964) Cacao and its allies: A taxonomic revision of the genus Theobroma. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 35(6): 379–614.
  • Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Theobroma cacao", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=793. Accessed 12 May 2025.