Identity before utility
Cacao
Theobroma cacao- Common name
- Cacao
- Scientific name
- Theobroma cacao
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Origin / status
- Cultivated tropical crop · local suitability review required
- Habitat
- Humid tropical understory; demonstration context beneath managed support canopy.
- Growth habit
- Small evergreen tree.
- Phenology
- No Preserve phenology series recorded.
- Water / soil
- No measured Preserve values yet.
- Relationships
- Shade canopy · Pollinators · Soil organic matter · Harvest witness
- Planting history
- Demonstration accession linked to Cacao Guild A.
- Guild
- ‘Ulu / banana → cacao → ginger / turmeric → ground cover
- Management
- Shade question remains under HVCF field orientation.
- Observed performance
- No conclusion yet.
- Food
- Cacao study
- Fermentation and preparation research
- traditional
- Historical uses require named cultural and documentary sources.
- empirical
- No Preserve yield or quality series recorded.
- investigational
- Shade response is framed as a local, reversible field question.
- safety
- Food handling and medicinal claims require qualified standards and evidence.
- Demonstration seed accession
- Cacao Guild A
- Shade observation
- Demonstration harvest lot
- Save viable seed when appropriate
- Return residue to documented compost pathway
- Review shade outcome