Theobroma

taxobox
name = "Theobroma"

---

image_caption = "Theobroma cacao" fruit
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Malvales
familia = Malvaceae
genus = "Theobroma"
genus_authority = L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.|

"Theobroma" is a genus of about 20 species in the family Sterculiaceae or sometimes classified as Malvaceae. They are small understory trees native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. The scientific name translates to "food of the gods".

;Selected species
*"Theobroma angustifolium"
*"Theobroma bicolor" - Mocambo
*"Theobroma cacao" - Cacao
*"Theobroma glauca"
*"Theobroma grandiflorum" - Cupuaçu
*"Theobroma leiocarpa"
*"Theobroma mammosum"
*"Theobroma mariae"
*"Theobroma martiana"
*"Theobroma microcarpa"
*"Theobroma pentagona"
*"Theobroma purpureum"
*"Theobroma simiarum"
*"Theobroma speciosa" - Cacaui
*"Theobroma subincana"

Uses

Several species of "Theobroma" produce edible seeds, notably Cacao, Cupuaçu, and Mocambo. Cacao is commercially valued as the source of cocoa and chocolate.

"Theobroma" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some moths of the genus "Endoclita" including "E. chalybeatus", "E. damor", "E. hosei" and "E. sericeus". The larva of another moth, "Hypercompe muzina", feeds exclusively on "Theobroma cacao".