Reproductive phenology, floral biology, pollination, and breeding system of Sauvagesia erecta L. and S. sprengelii A. St.-Hil. were studied, respectively, in a remnant of Atlantic forest, located at the "Parque Estadual Dois Irmãos", Recife, and in open areas, Goiana, both in Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil. The species have pollen flowers with poricidal anthers and a staminodial envelope, which surrounds the stamens and the gynoecium, creating an apical pore to pollen release. The pattern of flowering of both species is continual. The species are self-compatible, autogamic and do not set apomictic fruits. Exclusively bees, mainly of the families Apidae and Halictidae, visited the flowers of both species. Bees of the genus Paratetrapedia visited only S. erecta flowers. Bombus brevivillus Franklin, Florilegus similis Urban, Xylocopa muscaria Fabricius were observed visiting only S. sprengelii flowers. Nevertheless, Augochloropsis species visited flowers of both species. Buzz pollination mechanism takes place with all these bee species acting as effective pollinators, excepting for one species of Paratetrapedia, which is a pollen thief. According to the pollinators' behaviour, the staminodial envelope has a function on the buzz pollination process, which characterizes a mechanism of transference of function, already mentioned to the family.
Atlantic Forest; buzz pollination; melitthophily; Ochnaceae; Sauvagesia
