The genus Copaifera is native to tropical regions of Latin America, an area of great species diversity . Distributed widely in the Americas, stretching from Mexico to northern Argentina, the genus also occurs in West Africa and Asia . The greatest richness of species occurs in Brazil, where they are distributed from the north to the south of the country. The most common species are C. multijuga Hayne, which is found in the Amazonas, Pará and Rondônia states; C. reticulata Ducke that occurs in Amapá, Pará and Roraima;, and C. langsdorffii Desf., which can occur from the northern to southern regions of Brazil . Other species have more restricted distribution, such as C. guyanensis Desf. (Amazonas), C. majorina Dwyer (Bahia), C. cearensis Huber ex Ducke (Ceará, Bahia, Piauí and Rio de Janeiro), C. elliptica Mart. (Goias and Mato Grosso), C. paupera (Herzog) Dwyer (Acre), and C. lucens Dwyer (Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo) . Although many species of Copaifera have wide occurrence within the Brazilian territory, and may occur in different phytogeographic domains (e.g., C. langsdorffii), some feature endemism, such as C. trapezifolia Hayne, which occurs in an extremely disturbed region of the Atlantic rainforest, of which only 11.6% of the natural vegetation cover remains . Thus, morphological, physiological, and ecological studies are highly relevant for the preservation of species and their natural environment . A study conducted in the Minas Gerais state on the geographical distribution and environmental characteristics of arboreal species showed that C. langsdorffii has wide occurrence throughout the whole state, where latosol type soil predominates, but additionally has a preference for ustic soils (62%) .