Reproductive Strategy of the Polyploid Species Varronia curassavica Jacq. in Restinga Environment

This study aimed to elucidate the breeding strategies of Varronia curassavica, an important medicinal species associated with Brazilian restinga. This was accomplished by combining phenological and genetic data. Every 2 weeks over a period of 2 years, we measured flowering and fruiting phenology to evaluate the activity and intensity of phenophases (n = 60). We evaluated the mating system, pollen ovule ratio and genotypes from progeny and mother plants using 8 nuclear microsatellite loci. We observed flowering and fruiting of V. curassavica at low intensity throughout the entire year, but with 2 distinct peaks, one of which was seasonal, corresponding to the period of gradual increase of temperature and photoperiod. Overlapping of flowering and fruiting strategies favors gene flow among different groups of individuals and between populations by attraction of fauna throughout the year. Analysis of the mating system indicates that V. curassavica is a typical outcrossed species (t^ = 0.98; pollen/ovule ratio = 7087.50). Combining phenology with genetic studies improved our understanding of the reproductive strategies of this species. The typical outcrossing system of V. curassavica reflects the existence of functional self-incompatibility mechanisms still unaffected by changes in genetic balance by polyploidy.