''Prioria copaifera'' is a tree in the family ''

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

''. It is native to tropical regions of Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where it occurs in tidal estuaries behind the mangrove fringe. It ranges from Nicaragua to Colombia and is also found in Jamaica. The wood of ''Prioria copaifera'' can be used in carpentry and cabinet-making. Heartwood of the ''Prioria copaifera'' tree secretes a black

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

when cut. Orchid bees collect this resin for nest construction. In

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

''Prioria copaifera'' is protected as a threatened species. The eco-lodge

Playa Cativo Playa Cativo is an eco-lodge located in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. Its name, Cativo, is the spanish word for the tree Prioria copaifera. The surrounding waters are part of the Piedras Blancas National Park to protect the needle-fish spawning grou ...

is named after the Prioria copaifera.

References

Waynesword
* Mabberley, D.J. (2002) The Plant-book. A portable dictionary of the vascular plants, Second edition, Cambridge University Press, 858 pp. * C. Sandi and E.M. Flores. Escuela de Agricultura del Trópico Húmedo and Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Costa Rica, Costa Rica Detarioideae Flora of Colombia Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Nicaragua Flora of Panama Flora of Jamaica Flora without expected TNC conservation status Taxa named by August Grisebach {{Detarioideae-stub