Production of reproductive structures and reproductive phenology in five composer species of a xerófita community

We studied the production of reproductive structures and the reproductive phenology of five Compositae species in a xeric community in Central Mexico: Eupatorium petiolare, Tagetes lunulata, Senecio praecox, Dahlia coccinea and Verbesina virgata. The last three species were studied in two sites with contrasting light conditions. The number of reproductive structures produced by D. coccinea was higher in the open site than in the shaded one. In contrast, S.praecox had a higher production in the shaded site, but V. virgata showed no differences. The reproductive phenology of V. virgata and D. coccinea was different between sites, but it was not happen in S. praecox. The species that flowered during the dry season had a shorter reproductive period (E. petiolare: 2.8 mo; S. praecox: 2.0 mo) than those that flowered during the rainy season or during the late rainy season (D. coccinea: 11.0 mo; T. lunulala: 8.5 mo; V. virgata: 8.5 mo) , which was caused by the high duration of the mature fruit stage in these species.