Growing Zones: 4-11 patio / 9-11 outdoors

Mature Height: 8ft. - Potted

Sunlight: Full-Partial

Growth Rate: Slow

Botanical Name: Theobroma cacao

Hardy down to 30℉

Theobroma cacao, also called the chocolate tree, cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of Mesoamerica. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate.

It grows into a relatively small tree with deeply gnarled bark and a sometimes twisting trunk. The leaves are oblong, pale green. The seed pods, occur naturally on the trunk when the young trees are about four years old. The seeds are lobed and about the size of an adult hand. When you split open an oblong fruit, you'll find many oblong cacao seeds encased in a semi-gooey white flesh. Mature cacao pods are usually orange colored and take about five months to fully ripen on the tree.