Cacao, << kuh KAY oh, >> is an evergreen tree whose seeds, or beans, are used to make chocolate and cocoa. Cultivated cacao trees grow about 25 feet (7.6 meters) high. In the wild, cacao trees can reach a height of 40 feet (12 meters). Their fruit is a melonlike pod that may be 12 inches (30 centimeters) long. The cacao seeds, imbedded in the pod, are about the size of lima beans. They range from light brown to purple.
Cacao trees are cultivated in Central and South America, the Caribbean, southeastern Asia, and West Africa. The beans supply not only chocolate and cocoa, but also cocoa butter, used in candies and medicines. The people of Mexico and Central America once used cacao beans as money.
