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Beans galore!
© El Rey Chocolates |
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Chocolate tree, pods and flower.
© El Rey Chocolates |
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• It's picky about pollination. Scientists believe the cacao tree evolved in small, scattered pockets in stable environments, so it did not have to develop a wide range of reproductive strategies to adapt to changing conditions. Also, the cacao flower is complicated in design, and its fertilization highly specialized. The flowers are pollinated exclusively by midges--small, gnat-like flies that thrive in the moist, debris-strewn rain forest floor.
• It has no way of its own to distribute seeds. Cacao seeds grow inside tough-skinned, elliptical pods, surrounded by fruit pulp. Unlike the fruit of most trees, mature pods do not fall from the cacao tree--and the seeds cannot germinate unless freed from the pod. This means that in order to propagate, cacao must rely on animals who chew through the pod for the sweet pulp, and who discard the bitter seeds.
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