FWD 1 Herbal IQ: Theobroma Cacao

HerbalEGram: Volume 10, Number 2, February 2013

Herbal IQ: Origin of Chocolate's
Latin Name, Theobroma cacao


Theobroma means "food of the gods."



According to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 

The edible properties of Theobroma cacao were discovered over 2,000 years ago by the local people of Central America living deep in the tropical rainforests....

The scientific name Theobroma cacao was given to the species by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753, when he published it in his famous book Species Plantarum. Theobroma means "food of the gods" in Latin.

And, Cornell University Library states:    

Although Linnaeus was reputedly fond of chocolate, he would have been familiar with early Spanish writings describing the Mayan and Aztec beliefs that cacao was a gift from the gods.












A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening.
Taken at the Botanical Gardens on the Big Island of Hawaii.
©2013 Medicaster.