Copaiba

Perennial, Trees, Woody throughout, Stems erect or ascending, Stems greater than 2 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules deciduous, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves even pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets alternate or subopposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glandular punctate or gland-dotted, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence panicles, Inflorescence axillary, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence leaf-opposed, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Bracteoles present, Flowers sessile or nearly so, Flowers actinomorphic or somewhat irregular, Calyx 4-lobed, Calyx hairy, Corolla absent, Stamens 9-10, Stamens completely free, separate, Stamens long exserted, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 1-seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black, Seeds with appendage - aril, caruncle, funiculus, or strophiole.

Copaifera officinalis, the copaiba balsam, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela. It has been introduced to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Sierra Leone, India, and Sri Lanka. Like other members of its genus, its trunks are tapped for its oleoresin, sometimes termed balsam of copaiba or, when refined, copaiba oil, which has industrial, artisanal, and medicinal purposes. Its oleoresin exhibits better bactericidal activity against common pathogens than that of Copaifera langsdorffii.