Theobroma cacao also cacao tree and cocoa tree, is a small (4–8 m (13–26 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Its seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate. Cacao leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (3.9–16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2.0–7.9 in) broad.

Theobroma cacao, Many genes were identified as coding for flavonoids, aromatic terpenes, theobromine and many other metabolites involved in cocoa flavor and quality traits, among which a relatively high proportion code for polyphenols, which constitute up to c. 8% of cacao pods dry weight. The cacao genome appears close to the hypothetic hexaploid ancestor of all dicotyledonous plants and it is proposed an evolution mechanism by which the 21 chromosomes of the dicots hypothetic hexaploid ancestor underwent major fusions leading to cacao's 10 chromosome pairs.