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

  • Chavez, J. (1993) Diagnostico de la Agricultura y la Ganader¡a en la Provincia de Galapagos. Tesis.
  • Cuatrecasas, J. (1964) Cacao and its allies: A taxonomic revision of the genus Theobroma. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 35(6): 379–614.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Jørgensen, P.M. Nee, M. & Beck, S. G. (2010) Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard.
  • 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.
  • Linares, J.L. (2005) Listado comentado de los árboles nativos y cultivados en la república de El Salvador. Ceiba 44(2): 105–268.
  • 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.

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 3 November 2026.