Criollo Cacao Pod

May 28, 2013

The cacao pod illustrated here is the archetypical criollo pod.  Criollo, the most valued type of cacao, typically has pods of yellow or red.  Mature pods are grooved and warty rather than smooth.

Of course, the precise variety of cacao is difficult to ascertain by pod appearance alone.  A single tree can produce wide variety of differently shaped and colored pods.

The incredible variety of fruiting phenotypes results the immense collection of genes involved.  An individual flower can be pollinated by many other trees–even auto-pollination is possible. Genetic testing is a requisite to identify cacao types.

Tags: chocoholic