Among the medicinal plants native to Brazil, Ocimum selloi Benth., an herbaceous annual plant of the Lamiaceae family, occurs in the southeastern and south regions of the country. This work evaluated flower biology aspects (flower structure, flowering and fructification) and reproductive mechanisms of four O. selloi populations from Piquete and Apiaí regions, São Paulo State; Camanducaia, Minas Gerais State; and Colombo, Paraná State. Anthesis started at 11:00 a.m. and finished at 3:00 p.m., with flowering climax at 1:00 p.m., and temperature was slightly important in this process. Pollen viability was high in all four studied populations. This species is self-compatible, forming fruits and seeds under both free pollination and spontaneous self-pollination, which indicates it has a great reproductive versatility, assuring genetic variability. Seed germination was also high in all four populations.
Ocimum selloi; reproductive biology; flower biology; medicinal plants
