SimplePlant

Malvaceae

Cocoa tree

Theobroma cacao L.

Family
Malvaceae
Genus
Theobroma

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Cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao)
FlowerPhoto: tonyblake, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (106)
Afrikaans
Kakaoboom
Arabic
كاكاو, أشجار الكاكاو, اللوز الهندي, شجرة الكاكاو
Armenian
Կակաոյի ծառ
arz
كاكاو
Asturian
Cacáu
Aymara
Kakao, Cacao, Kakaw
azb
کاکائو آغاجی
Azerbaijani
Kakao ağacı
ban
Coklat
Bangla
কোকোয়া
bar
Gaugau
Basque
Kakao, Kakaua
Belarusian
Какава
bik
Kakaw
Bosnian
Kakaovac
Bulgarian
Какаово дърво
Burmese
ကကေးအိုပင်
Cantonese
唂咕樹, 唂咕
Catalan
Cacau, Cacau ensucrat
Cebuano
Kakaw, Cacao, Cocoa, Kakao, Kakawo, Kokoa, Kokowa
Chinese
可可树, 可可樹, 可可, 可可(可可树、柯柯豆、柯柯树), 黄背草, 柯柯树, 柯柯豆
Croatian
Kakaovac, Kakao
Czech
Kakaovník pravý, Kakaovník
Danish
Kakao, Kakaotræ, Ægte Kakaotræ
Dutch
Cacaoboom, Cacao
English
Cocoa tree, Cacao, Chocolate tree, Cocoa plant
Estonian
Harilik kakaopuu, Kakaopuu, Kakaouba
Filipino
Kakaw, T cacao, T. cacao
Finnish
Kaakaopuu
French
Cacaoyer, Cacaotier, Trinitario
frr
Kakaobuum
Galician
Cacao
Georgian
Კაკაო
German
Kakaobaum, Kakao
Greek
Κακαόδεντρο
Guarani
Kuvuasu
Haitian Creole
Kakawo
Hausa
Koko
Hebrew
קקאו
hsb
Prawy kakawowc
Hungarian
Kakaó, Kakaófa
hyw
Քաքաօ
Icelandic
Kakó
Indonesian
Kakao
Interlingua
Arbore de cacao
Irish
Crann cacó, Cacó, Crann cócó, Cócó
Japanese
カカオ, カカオ豆, ココアノキ, 加加阿
Javanese
Kakao
Kazakh
Какао
kge
Kopi Coklat
ki
Cocoa
Korean
카카오, 카카오 나무, 카카오나무, 코코아나무
Kurdish
Kakao
kus
Kookoo
Kyrgyz
Какао
lah
کوکو رکھ
Latin
Cacao
Latvian
Kakaokoks, Kakao, Īstais kakaokoks
Lingala
Kaukau, Kakao
Lithuanian
Tikrasis kakavmedis
Macedonian
Какао, Какаово дрво
Malagasy
Kakao
Malay
Koko, Pokok Koko
Malayalam
കൊക്കോ
Marathi
कोको
Mongolian
Какао
mwl
Cacau
nah
Cacahuacuahuitl
nan
Chi-ku-la̍t-châng
nap
Cacavo
nds
Kakouboom
Norwegian Bokmål
Kakaotre, Kakaodyrking
Norwegian Nynorsk
Kakaotre, T. cacao
Occitan
Cacao, Cacau
os
Какао
pam
Kako
pcd
Caco
Persian
درخت کاکائو
Polish
Kakaowiec właściwy
Portuguese
Cacau, Cacaueiro
Quechua
Kakaw, Cacao, Cocoa, Kakawa, Kakawa k'aspi, Kakawa kaspi
Romanian
Arborele de cacao
rup
Cacauã
Russian
Какао, Cacao, Какао-дерево, Шоколадное дерево
Serbian
Какаовац
Serbian (Latin)
Kakaovac
Slovak
Kakaovník pravý
Slovenian
Kakav, Kakavovec
smn
Kaakaomuorâ
Spanish
Arbol de cacao, Especie de cacao, Fuente de cacao, La comida de los dioses
Sundanese
Kakao
Swahili
Mkakao
Swedish
Kakao
Tamil
கொக்கோ
Tatar
Какао агачы
Thai
โกโก้
Tongan
Koko
Turkish
Kakao, Kakao tanesi
Ukrainian
Какао
Urdu
کوکو درخت
Uzbek
Kakao
Vietnamese
Cacao, Ca cao, Ca-cao
war
Kakao
wuu
可可树
xmf
Კაკაო
Yiddish
קאקאא בוים

Synonyms

  • Cacao minar Gaertn.
  • Cacao minus Gaertn.
  • Cacao sativa Aubl.
  • Cacao theobroma Tussac
  • Theobroma cacao f. lacandonense Cuatrec.
  • Theobroma cacao f. leiocarpum (Bernoulli) Ducke
  • Theobroma cacao f. pentagonum (Bernoulli) Cuatrec.
  • Theobroma cacao subsp. cacao
  • Theobroma cacao subsp. leiocarpum (Bernoulli) Cuatrec.
  • Theobroma cacao subsp. pentagonum (Bernoulli) León
  • Theobroma cacao subsp. sativa (Aubl.) León
  • Theobroma cacao subsp. sphaerocarpum (A.Chev.) Cuatrec.
  • Theobroma cacao var. leiocarpum (Bernoulli) Cif.
  • Theobroma caribaeum Sweet
  • Theobroma integerrimum Stokes
  • Theobroma kalagua De Wild.
  • Theobroma leiocarpum Bernoulli
  • Theobroma minus (Gaertn.) A.Chev.
  • Theobroma pentagonum Bernoulli
  • Theobroma saltzmanniana Bernoulli
  • Theobroma salzmanniana Bernoulli
  • Theobroma sapidum Pittier
  • Theobroma sativa (Aubl.) Lign. & Bey
  • Theobroma sativa var. leucosperma A.Chev.
  • Theobroma sativa var. melanosperma A.Chev.
  • Theobroma sativum (Aubl.) Lign. & Bey
  • Theobroma sativum var. leucospermum A.Chev.
  • Theobroma sativum var. melanospermum A.Chev.
  • Theobroma sphaerocarpum A.Chev.

Flowers

In flower
March to January (from 184 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Tree
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced, U.S. Virgin Islands: introduced

Photos

More in Theobroma

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.