| Landscape | It is an understory tree, growing best with some overhead shade. |
| Cultivation | It requires a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. |
| Habitat | Deep tropical region of the Americas |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm long and 5–20 cm broad. Poisonous and inedible, they are filled with a creamy, milky liquid and taste spicy and unpleasant. |
| Flower Description | The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm diameter, with pink calyx. |
| Fruit Description | The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm long and 8–10 cm wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g (1 lb) when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. |
