HOW DO CAROB TREES DIFFER FROM CHOCOLATE TREES?
Chocolate Trees (Theobroma cacao) first grew in South America and Mexico. Both trees are evergreen, but Chocolate Trees have a fruit that is shaped like an American football or a rugby ball. The flower and fruit grow directly out of the trunk of the tree, as does the carob flower and fruit. The pulp of the Chocolate Tree fruit isn’t eaten. Chocolate and cocoa are made from the seeds. As you can see, the seeds are uneven in size, so they couldn’t be used as weights as carob seeds were used. There is a chance that Chocolate Trees are pollinated and/or planted by fruit eating bats but so far scientific proof is lacking. That is regrettable, because a bat-chocolate connection would push bats way up in popularity polls. Chocolate Trees grow best in shade. Midges, a favourite bat food for insect-eating bats, also like shade and are thought to be major Chocolate Tree pollinators.(14) BACK TO CAROB TREES; DO THEY HAVE ANY MORE STERLING QUALITIES THAT I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT? Yes. • The Carob Tree
Chocolate Trees (Theobroma cacao) first grew in South America and Mexico. Both trees are evergreen, but Chocolate Trees have a fruit that is shaped like an American football or a rugby ball. The flower and fruit grow directly out of the trunk of the tree, as does the carob flower and fruit. The pulp of the Chocolate Tree fruit isn’t eaten. Chocolate and cocoa are made from the seeds. As you can see, the seeds are uneven in size, so they couldn’t be used as weights as carob seeds were used. There is a chance that Chocolate Trees are pollinated and/or planted by fruit eating bats but so far scientific proof is lacking. That is regrettable, because a bat-chocolate connection would push bats way up in popularity polls. Chocolate Trees grow best in shade. Midges, a favourite bat food for insect-eating bats, also like shade and are thought to be major Chocolate Tree pollinators.(14) BACK TO CAROB TREES; DO THEY HAVE ANY MORE STERLING QUALITIES THAT I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT? Yes. • The Carob Tree
