Which 18th-century botanist gave the cacao tree the scientific name Theobroma cacao?

Carl Linnaeus gave the cacao tree the scientific name Theobroma cacao.

Linnaeus formally named the genus and species in 1753 in Species Plantarum, the foundational work in modern botanical nomenclature. The genus name Theobroma comes from Greek words meaning “food of the gods,” while cacao preserves the plant’s Indigenous American naming tradition.

The cacao tree is the source of the seeds processed into cocoa and chocolate. Its accepted scientific name is Theobroma cacao, and the species belongs to the family Malvaceae. Linnaeus’s naming system used two-part Latin names, allowing scientists in different countries to refer to the same organism consistently.

The name is sometimes mistakenly attributed to a chocolate maker or to a later botanist who studied cacao cultivation. Linnaeus was a Swedish physician and naturalist whose broader system classified thousands of plants and animals, not a confectionery inventor.