Résumé
The present paper gives a description of the activities undertaken on wild cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) from the South East of French Guiana, from their discovery in 1729 to the prospects following their recent study: scientific collection expeditions (1987, 1990, 1995), collected and distributed accessions, safeguard in French Guiana, characterization, structure of the genetic diversity, selection and assessment of their breeding value. A synthesis of the research activities undertaken in French Guiana and elsewhere (France, Trinidad. Côte-d'lvoire, etc.) and of the main results obtained is given here. The conclusion part underlines the potentialities of these new accessions for cocoa breeding, especially because of their promising value for yield, cropping efficiency, resistance to disease and cocoa quality.