Morphology and architectural analysis of Copaifera pubiflora seedlings (Detarioideae, Leguminosae)

Copaifera L. is a woody legume genus with 42 species that produce valuable terpenoid oleoresins used in medicine and industrial activities. Copaifera belongs to the Detarieae (Detarioideae) and is part of a clade together with five other genera. We describe the seedling morphology of Copaifera pubiflora Benth. based on plant architectural analysis to shed light on its post-seminal shoot development. Seeds of this species were collected from a wild population in Roraima State, Brazil. Seedlings of C. pubiflora have preformed shoots with determinate and rhythmic growth. Each growth unit has two reduced leaf scales that correspond to a pair of prophylls followed by two or three scale-like stipules and one distal eophyll. Besides, C. pubiflora has a monochasial sympodial branching with delayed branches. Current evidence indicates that most Copaifera species, including C. pubiflora, have phanerocotylar, epigeal, reserve seedlings with a cataphyll-free epicotyl and scale-like structures on the first internode after the epicotyledonary axis. Based on the available data, a comprehensive view of Copaifera seedlings from both the Old and New Worlds is also presented.