It is a tree native to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.

nicaraguensis[4] The flowers of plants of this genus are also depicted on Maya drinking vessels used for cacao.

[1][5] The first report by Europeans was in the 16th century by Bernardino de Sahagún who provided an illustration of the flowers being harvested by Aztecs and reported: "There are also other trees called cacauaxochitl which bear flowers which are called cacauaxochitl.

Schultes reported that all species of Quararibea have the distinctive odour and the smell remains strong even on herbarium specimens more than a century old.

The flowers were taken from the tree to flavour a cold cocoa drink called pozonqui, drunk at weddings and festivals.