Copaíba

Related species
Description and phenology
Distribution, abundance and ecology
Uses and economic potential
Historical market data
Collection methods and yields
Propagation and cultivation methods
Research contacts

Paulo de T.B. Sampaio

Family: Leguminosae-Caesalpinoideae

Species: Copaifera multijuga Hayne

Common names: copaíba, copaíba angelim, copaíba mari-mari, copaíba roxa (Brazil).

Related species

Copaifera has about 60 described species (Dwyer 1951): 32 occur in Africa and 28 in South America. Numerous oil-resin producing species occur in Amazônia, among which are: C. bijuga Hayne; C. cuneata Tul.; C. guianensis Deaf.; C. glycycarpa Ducke; C. longicuspis Ducke; C. longifolia Huber; C. marginata Benth; C. martii Hayne var. C. rigida (Benth) Ducke; C. officinalis L.; C. pubiflora; and C. spruceana Benth (Ducke 1930, Fróes 1959, LeCointe 1947, Pio Corrêa 1932). Dwyer (1951) can be consulted for a botanical description of each, its geographic distribution and production of oil resin.

Description and phenology

C. multijuga is a large tree, that can attain 36 m in height, with a DBH of up to 80 cm. The bark is smooth, persistent, about 1 cm thick. The alternate, compound leaves have two leaflets, oblong lanceolate, pointed at the tip and rounded at the base, with fine hairs along the principal vein. The white flowers are sessile, with 4-5 mm long petals that have a rusty red color. The unilocular fruits measure about 3 cm in diameter and are a red color when mature. The seeds are oval or spherical, with an intense yellow-colored aril (Alencar 1981, Loureiro et al. 1979). It is distinguished from other species in the genus by the special shape of its leaflets, the agreeable smell of its wood (a strong coumarin perfume is always present) and by the larger size of its flowers. The tree and its wood are otherwise very similar to C. reticulate, but the oil resin produced is clearer and more liquid, with a more agreeable smell than in most of the other species.

C. multijuga flowers between January and April (the local rainy season) and fruits between March and August. It is an evergreen, although occasionally semi-deciduous at the end of fruiting (Alencar et al. 1979). Vastano (1984) found that the species is allogamous (out-breeding), as expected for a perennial tree species in Amazônia.

Distribution, abundance and ecology

C. multijuga has an ample geographic distribution. It is found from the mid-Tapajós River in the east to Amazonas and Rondônia states in the west (Ducke 1949) on the south side of the Amazonas River; it is also found from the Trombetas River west into Amazonas on the north side.

In a 26.5 ha forest inventory done along the Trombetas River (eastern Pará), an average abundance of 1 tree/ha of C. multijuga was found, for the 20 cm or greater diameter at breast height (DBH) class (INPA 1982). Alencar et al. (1972) found this species in the forests of the Cuieiras and Urubu Rivers (Manaus, Amazonas), with an abundance of 1 to 2 trees/ha for the 25 cm or greater DBH class. According to Loureiro et al. (1979), the wood volume (with bark) in the terra firma forest of SUFRAMA's Agricultural District (Manaus) is about 0.12 m³/ha, with an abundance of 2 trees/ha. In the Bacia 3 experimental area, at the Tropical Silviculture Experiment Station, INPA, in SUFRAMA's Agricultural District, Jardim (1985) found 0.125 trees/ha and a volume of 0.23 m³/ha, for the 40 cm or greater DBH class. In the area of the Projeto Esperança (Novo Aripuanã, southern Amazonas), Jardim & Fernandes (1983) found 0.14 trees/ha, for the 35 cm or greater DBH class. In a systematic sampling of a 10,000 ha area along the Arinos River (northern Mato Grosso), an average of 1.5 trees/ha were found, for the 20 cm or greater DBH class (Higuchi & Barbosa 1983).

C. multijuga occurs in numerous habitats, from the terra firma forests, to the flooded and/or sandy margins of lakes and streams, to the cerrado forests of central Brazil. It occurs on both sandy and clayey soils, and generally occupies the upper canopy or may occasionally be an emergent (Alencar et al. 1979).

Uses and economic potential

Major use: Timber
Potential mayor use: oil resin
Secondary use: medicinal

Major use: Timber

C. multijuga's wood is heavy (0.75 to 0.85 g/cm³), with a brownish-red heartwood and a lighter, well defined, outer layer. The wood has a regular grain and medium texture, quite similar to cedar (Cedrella odorata Meliaceae). It emits a strong odor of coumarin when cut and has an indistinctive flavor. Its luster is silky and alive. C. multijuga is widely used for sawn lumber, construction and carpentry, and makes a good charcoal (Loureiro et al. 1979).

Potential mayor use: oil resin

An oil resin is extracted from the leaves, trunk and stem. It has a strong demand on the Brazilian and international markets, as a component of high temperature resistent varnishes, cosmetics (as a perfume fixative), and in the pharmaceutical industry (Prance 1987). It is used to improve the clarity of the image in low-contrast areas in photographic film development. It is also used as a substitute for linseed oil in paints, because of its drying properties. It is reputed to be used in the paper industry as a fixative (Prance 1987, Nascimento 1980).

This oil resin is composed of various sesguiterpenes, among which are cubebene, cadinene and tocoferol (Alencar 1982). According to Langenheim (1973), the African species produce a viscous oil resin rich in terpenoides that solidify into a type of amber or "copal". C. multijuga, however, produces a liquid oil resin, that; is nearly transparent, slightly viscous, with a strong smell of coumarin, and a bitter taste.

The physical properties of the stem oil resin, separated into its major fractions, are presented in Table 1. The fatty acid composition of the seed oil is presented in Table 2. According to Gottlieb & Iachan (1945), the physical-chemical properties of the oil resin vary with procedence and soil type.

Table 1. Physical properties of the C. multijuga oil resin complex, based on oil resin obtained from the trunk (Gottlieb Iachan 1945).

Alencar (1982) mentions that clean copaíba oil, direct from the trunk, can substitute for diesel oil directly. An engine will run normally; the only detectable difference is that the exhaust smoke is bluish. This observation excited some planners during the 1973 oil crisis, but only a small amount of money for research resulted because of disappointing yields (see below).

Table 2. Fatty acid composition (in % of oil) of the seed oil of C. multijuga (Maia et al. 1978).

Secondary use: medicinal

The oil resin of C. multijuga is popularly used in Amazônia to treat throat infections, bronchitis and other respiratory problems; as an antiseptic for wounds and scratches; and as a cure for diarrhea and problems in the urinary tract. In weak doses it is a stimulant for the appetite, with direct action on the stomach (Pio Corrêa 1932). It is currently being commercialized in Manaus in the form of capsules to treat infections, reputedly as an anti-inflammatory.

Historical market data

In 1939, the US imported 100 MT of C. multijuga oil resin from Brazil. Alencar (1982) estimates that the total oil production in Amazônia may be on the order of 200 MT, including oils that are not registered for export but are used locally, mostly as medicinals. This oil resin is a significant item in the list of extractivist products exported from Amazonas state: between 1974 and 1979 the state exported an average of 89 MT/yr, with an average value of US$ 215,000/yr (or US$ 2,415/MT) (IBGE 1980). In 1984 total Amazonian exports (Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, etc) reached 120 MT, with a value of US$ 207,000 (or US$ 1,725/MT) (CACEX 1986). The lower value in recent years suggests that the market for traditional industrial uses is saturated or that this market is turning to synthetic substitutes. The major markets were the US (58 MT), France (22 MT) and West Germany (17 MT) (CACEX 1986).

Collection methods and yields

In the genus Copaifeira the oil resin is secreted in small pockets in the leaves and the primary xylem (Langenhein 1978).

In the secondary xylem of the trunk and branches the oil resin is stored in vertical tube cells organized in concentric rings, interconnected in such a way that the oil resin drains from all the tube cells when one of them is perforated (Prance 1987). Extraction of the oil resin is thus simply a matter of perforating the trunk with a drill, preferably into the center of the heartwood, at 60-70 cm above the soil. If the oil resin does not drain easily, a fire may be made around the base of the tree to heat the oil resin and aid drainage (Alencar 1982).

According to Alencar (1982), the yield of oil resin of C. multijuga varies with soil type and procedence. In a 200 ha research area at the A. Ducke Forest Reserve (INPA, Manaus), 82 trees with DBH ³ 30 cm were studied. In each tree, two holes were' drilled in the trunk from opposite sides in order to collect the oil resin. At 6- to 14-month intervals and at different times of the year, a total of 5 collections were made from each tree,. In the first collection 45% of the trees on clay soils and 75% of those on sandy soils did not yield any oil. Only 9 trees yielded more than 500 ml at the first collection and 3 trees yielded more than 2 liters. Yields and number of trees yielding varied from collection to collection and from season to season, but declined continually during the period to an average of 34 ml/tree in the fifth collection (Alencar 1982).

These rather disappointing yields suggest that the energetic potential of C. multijuga is rather limited, even if rationally exploited in commercial plantations (Alencar 1982). A rather protracted improvement program would be necessary to make it even marginally attractive with the germplasm that was studied in Manaus. Nonetheless, it is possible that more productive populations and specific edapho-climatic conditions exist where this; potential may be much higher. The species is certainly worth looking at more intensively. Pio Corrêa (1932) mentions that C. reticulate may also be worth further study, due to the good quality of its oil.

Propagation and cultivation methods

Seed of C. multijuga sown in Jacobsen germinators at a temperature of 30°C, presented 91% germination when sown immediately after being collected and 56% germination after storage for 30 days at room temperature (Façanha & Verela 1987). According to Alencar (1981), this species presents an average germination of 87.5%, starting within 14 days after sowing and taking about 35 days to finish the germination period.

Seedling growth of C. reticulata in clay substrate in full sun was poor, presenting heights of only 10-30 cm after 200 days (Ledoux 1982), strongly suggesting that the species requires shade in the juvenile stage. C. multijuga is expected to behave similarly.

According to Alencar & Araujo (1980), C. multijuga planted in full sun at 5 × 2.5 m on heavy-textured yellow latosols at the A. Ducke Forest Reserve (INPA), presented average heights of 8.2 m and DBH of 9.2 cm at 16 years of age; this is only about 50 cm/year, however, which does not promise much for plantation management as the tree would probably have to be at least 20 cm in diameter in order to be tapped. Under the partial shade of the primary forest, this species presented an average height of 1.5 m and DBH of 1.4 cm, with the same edapho-climatic conditions during the same period. This suggests that, like other upper canopy and emergent species, C. multijuga requires shade during the seedling stage but requires sun in order to attain height and girth.

From the above discussion it is evident that more research on the agronomic and silvicultural requirements of copaíba is urgently necessary. Identification of the correct soil and climatic conditions for most rapid growth, together with collection of the most promising germplasm, will allow a more adequate evaluation of its potential in agroecosystems, either monoculture or agroforestry. In forest management areas, silvicultural research to enhance growth and yields is required. Enrichment with promising germplasm will also be necessary.

Research contacts

Dr. Jurandyr C. Alencar, Tropical Silviculture Dept., Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Cx. Postal 478, 69.011 Manaus, AM, Brazil.

Departamento de Silvicultura, Superintendência pare o Desenvolvimento da Amazônia - SUDAM, Belém, PA, Brazil.

Departamento de Silvicultura, Centro de Pesquisa Agopecuária do Trópico Úmido - CPATU/EMBRAPA, Cx. Postal 28, 66.040 Belém, PA, Brazil.