Scientists have discovered three new plant species related to Theobroma cacao, the tree from which cocoa beans are harvested, in a breakthrough for chocolate production. With this finding, researchers at University College Cork, the University of São Paulo, and the New York Botanical Garden believe that, shortly, climate-resilient cacao trees will be developed and hence save one of man’s favorite snacks from climatic change.
These new species were located in the western Amazon rainforest, and each of them belonged to the species Theobroma globosum, T. nervosum, and T. schultesii. These plants are important: first, because they are the closest relatives of cacao genetically; second, because they can bring much biodiversity in general. As Dr. James Richardson of the School of BEES and the Environmental Research Institute at UCC has said, this is an important discovery that highlights how much work there is still to be done in cataloging the biodiversity of Earth.
“These new species were discovered based on a study of specimens in herbaria and demonstrate the importance of maintaining these natural history collections, as many more species remain to be discovered within them,” Richardson said. He noted that the fact that these are previously unknown species underscores the potential to breed drought-tolerant or disease-resistant cacao trees for stabilizing cacao production in the face of increasingly volatile climates.
The timing of the discovery could not be more critical. Recently, owing to long droughts in West Africa, the largest cacao-producing region globally, the price of cacao has increased significantly. This has pushed researchers and innovators to find sustainable solutions against this volatility. While UK startup WNWN is already replacing cacao with more climate-friendly ingredients, and other efforts involve using the entire cacao plant to improve farm resilience, this discovery may provide a source of genes for developing more resilient varieties of cacao.
Richardson’s team published their findings in the journal Kew Bulletin, underpinning once more the economic and ecological value of the Amazon rainforest. The discovery coincides with recent campaigns touting Amazon’s $317 billion economy by underscoring that standing forests are much more valuable than the potential earnings from their destruction.
The identification of these new Theobroma species at a time when the world is suffering from the impact of climate change brings a ray of hope for the future of chocolate and reminds us that Earth’s biodiversity holds so much untapped potential if one preserves natural history collections for future research and innovation.