This work is a continuation of studies on the reproductive biology of angiosperm species in the municipality of Viçosa, "Zona da Mata", Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The aim of this work was to analyze the flowering phenology and the breeding system of three co-occurring species of Ruellia: R. brevifolia (Pohl) C. Ezcurra and R. menthoides (Nees) Hiern, both cleistogamous, and R. subsessilis (Nees) Lindau. Seed germination was tested and the occurrence of vegetative propagation verified. Ruellia subsessilis flowered throughout the year, with a peak in October. Ruellia brevifolia produced flowers mainly from February to July, with a flowering peak in March. Ruellia menthoides produced flowers from August to December with a flowering peak in September. All species are self-compatible; Ruellia brevifolia and R. menthoides are facultative autogamous species and R. subsessilis is a facultative xenogamous species. High percentages of normal seedlings (from 67% up to 83%) were obtained from seeds produced through selfing. Besides sexual reproduction, the species showed vegetative propagation, i.e., branch fragments segregated from the motherplant, which develop adventitious roots. The species, therefore, showed sexual and asexual reproductive strategies. The former are distinct flowering peak, autogamous or allogamous flowers as well as ornitophilous or mellittophilous ones, and cleistogamous flowers. However, the result of sexual strategies was common to all of them, i.e., production of fruits with viable seeds during the entire year. The balance among the various reproductive mechanisms seems to confer to these species a high degree of adaptation in altered environments as shown in areas of their occurrence at the forest fragment studied.
flowering phenology; Ruellia brevifolia; Ruellia menthoides; Ruellia subsessilis; self-compatibility
