Wood anatomy and growth ring boundaries of Copaifera lucens (Fabaceae)

The wood anatomy of Copaifera lucens Dwyer was studied with an emphasis on its growth ring boundaries. Growth rings arc visible to the naked eye and demarcated by marginal parenchyma bands and, sometimes, by thick-walled fibers in the latewood. Secretory canals arc associated with marginal parenchyma bands, but not all marginal parenchyma bands are associated with canals. Paratracheal parenchyma is vasicentric to lozenge-aliform. Rays arc 1-4-seriate, heterocellular and non-storied. Vessels are visible to the naked eye, diffuse, predominantly solitary, some in multiples, sometimes filled with gums. Crystals present. Wood anatomical characteristics of C. lucens are in agreement with those previously reported for other species of Copaifera. In addition to what had already been described for C. lucens, we observed gelatinous fibers, and some bifurcate fibers, and extremely rare clustered vessels. The growth ring boundaries are well-defined in mature wood but less distinctive near the pith. There are also partial and confluent (wedging) rings, which are difficult to classify by anatomy only, but which represent false rings and complicate tree-ring analysis in this species.