The Cacao tree tends to grow in a band 20 degrees North and South of the equator,
with a temperature of 60°F (16°C) (therefore at some altitude) and year round moisture, which means that
if there is a dry season irrigation is required.
In the wild, Monkeys, rats and squirrels take the pods, eat the white pulp leaving the bitter seeds.
The seeds sprout in a few days, and trees will fruit in 3-4 years. The seeds have a vitality of only 3 months,
and through this they need a high temperatue and humidity. Cultivated trees are normally grown from cuttings.
The tree flowers on the trunk and large branches (not spurs and branch tips) which is known as "cauliflory".
The 5 petalled flowers are pollinated by midges, so they need messy floors, and other large shady trees to keep the midge
population high. The trees are continually flowering and ripening, there is no flowering season.
A seed pod takes 4-5 months to reach full size and a further month to ripen.
each pod has 30-40 almond sized seeds surrounded by a sweet juicy pulp. The
seeds must be dispersed by animals, the tree has no way of doing it.
There are two varieties of cocoa tree, crillo and forastero (and a number of hybrids). The crillo is "finicky", gives fewer pods
with fewer seeds per pod. It is also more susceptable to disease, but the beans have more flavour and aroma than those from forastero.
Beacuse of the difficulty of growing crillo, and the lower yield, 80% of the world cocoa crop is from forastero trees.
The Cacao tree tends to grow in a band 20 degrees North and South of the equator,
with a temperature of 60°F (16°C) (therefore at some altitude) and year round moisture, which means that
if there is a dry season irrigation is required.