Chocolate tree: photo and description. Where does the chocolate tree grow?

The homeland of the chocolate tree is recognized as the land of Central and South America. Now wild cocoa (chocolate tree), belonging to the family of Sterkuliev, is practically not found. The plant has become domesticated since the time of the development of South American lands by the Spaniards. It is cultivated on plantations.

Theobroma is the ancient Greek name of the tree, meaning "food of the gods". It really justifies its name. Delicacies obtained from cocoa beans have a divine taste. Chocolate, whether it's a hot drink, a solid tile, candy, pasta or cream, causes constant enthusiasm for every person.

The area of cocoa growth

In the regions where the chocolate tree grows, special natural and climatic conditions prevail. It is mainly cultivated in the tropics stretching across America, Africa and Oceania. African states are the main suppliers of cocoa beans. They supply up to 70% of this product to the world market.

The largest supplier is Ghana. In the capital of this country - Accra - built the largest African market, where cocoa beans are sold. The harvest of chocolate beans on the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) reaches 30% of the total produced in the world. Indonesia is also considered a major market player.

A lot of fruit is collected from chocolate trees on the island of Bali, where the combination of mountain climate and fertile volcanic soils is ideal for the growth of cocoa. Cocoa seeds are brought from Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Malaysia and Colombia.

Cocoa growth conditions

It is difficult to find a tree more whimsical than cocoa. It requires special conditions for life. Develop and bear fruit incredible sissy - a chocolate tree - is only capable of multi-tiered tropical forests. The plant is located in the lower tier of the forest. There, whence the shadow and dampness do not disappear, and the temperature regime keeps on marks from +24 to +28 ⁰ С.

It loves places with fertile, friable, sheltered fallen leaves, where the rain is pouring unceasing rain and there are no winds. Such conditions of growth can create only a canopy formed in the multi-tier rain rainforests.

For example, in the Amazon basin with the onset of the rainy season, when the tributaries of the river, coming out of the banks, turn the lowlands into endless lakes a meter deep, every tree of chocolate lasts almost weeks in water. However, under such conditions, plants do not rot, but, on the contrary, continue to develop.

Growing of a chocolate tree on plantations

A capricious chocolate tree is demanding for the temperature regime. It is not at all capable of development if the temperature does not rise above 21 ^° C. The optimal temperature for its growth is 40 ^° C. And at the same time it is harmful to direct sunlight.

Therefore, to ensure the normal growth of trees, they are planted in mixed plantings. Cocoa is excellent among avocados, bananas, mangoes, coconuts and rubber trees. Fanciful trees, easily exposed to a variety of diseases, need constant care and thorough care. Harvest from them is removed only by hand.

Description of chocolate tree

On average, the height of straightforward evergreen trees is 6 meters. However, some specimens do not need to grow to 9 or even 15 meters. The trunks of plants (up to 30 cm in girth with yellowish wood) are covered by the brown bark and crowned by broad, branched dense crowns.

Trees that are able to live in the shadow of plantings, flooded with rain, have giant oblong-elliptical leaves. The size of thin, entire, regular, evergreen leaves, sitting on short petioles, is comparable to the size of a newspaper page. Their length is about 40 cm, and the width is about 15 cm.

Thanks to the giant leaves, the chocolate tree catches the crumbs of light, barely sinking through the lush greenery of plants endowed with greater height. For the growth of giant foliage is not typical gradualness (the leaves do not dissolve one after another). It is characterized by undulating development. That leaves the word freezes for a few weeks and even months and does not grow at all, then suddenly there is an extraordinary surge in their development - several pieces are simultaneously blossoming.

Fruiting is observed all year round. The first flowering and the formation of fruits is observed at the age of 5-6 years of plant life. The period of fruiting lasts for them for 30-80 years. Fruits a chocolate tree twice a year. Abundant crops yield after 12 years of life.

The bunches, formed by small pinkish-white flowers, make their way right through the bark covering the trunks and large branches. Pollinate inflorescences that exude an abominable smell, midwash. Brown and yellow fruits, similar to the shape of a small elongated ribbed melon, hang from the trunks. Their surface is cut by ten grooves.

Seeds of chocolate tree

They need 4 months to mature. Because of such a long ripening of the fruit, the trees are always laced with flowers and fruits. In fruits 30 cm long, 5-20 cm in diameter and weighing 200-600 g, 30-50 cocoa beans are hidden. Beans are tightened with a thick leathery sheath of yellow, red or orange tones. The length of each almond-shaped seed is 2-2.5 cm, and the width is 1.5 cm.

Longitudinal rows of beans are surrounded by a juicy sweetish flesh, which is revered as a delicacy by squirrels and monkeys. They suck the watery pulp, throwing out what is valuable to people - beans used as raw materials for the production of cocoa and chocolate.

Collection of cocoa fruits

Since the chocolate tree is quite high, not only machetes are used for picking fruits, but also knives attached to long poles. The cut fruits are cut into 2-4 parts. Beans extracted from the pulp by hand, spread to dry on the leaves of bananas, pallets or in closed boxes.

When drying the seeds in the sun, cocoa turns a sweetish bitter taste with tart notes, which is less valuable. Therefore, preference is given to the closed drying of the beans. The fermentation period takes from 2 to 9 days. During the drying process, the amount of seeds decreases.

Seed processing

Cocoa beans of brownish-purple hues have an oily taste and pleasant aroma. Seeds, sorted, peeled, fried and rid of parchment shells, crushed and sieved through a sieve, obtaining a quality cocoa powder.

Parchment shells are used as a fertilizer, and the powder takes for processing any chocolate factory. Chocolate tree, or rather its raw materials, obtained from seeds - is an excellent basis for many delicacies.

From the fried crumb, ground into a thick stretching mass, by cooling, bitter chocolate is obtained. Enriching the resulting mixture with sugar, vanilla, powdered milk and other additives, get a different chocolate.

From the fried fruit, subjected to pressing, cocoa butter is obtained. The crumb remaining after pressing is ground into cocoa powder. Thus, two valuable products give the mankind a chocolate tree. The confectionary factory uses both powder and oil, releasing all sorts of chocolate treats. Oil, in addition, is widely used in the manufacture of perfumes and cosmetics and pharmacological agents.

The Benefits of Cocoa

Cocoa is not just a delicious treat, it has medicinal properties. Its composition is based on proteins, fiber, gum, alkaloids, theobromine, fat, starch and coloring matter. Thanks to theobromine, which has a tonic effect, cocoa has found application in medicine. It successfully suppresses diseases of the throat and lungs.

Delicacy and pharmacological preparations from cocoa restore strength and soothe. They normalize the heart activity. They are used in the prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke and cancer. Cacao oil is cured by hemorrhoids.