Soil water availability in the dry tropical forest varies depending on the rainfall heterogeneity, which may be altered by future climate changes. The predicted water restrictions may modify the strategies of the herbaceous component in the allocation of resources jeopardizing their survival. We aimed at knowing the vegetative, reproductive and phenological responses of Talinum paniculatum under simulated conditions of reduced soil water supply. It is a drought-tolerant herb used in traditional medicine, such as non-conventional plant food and animal fodder. A total of 150 individuals of the herb were submitted to three treatments of water deficiency: T100 (control; 100% field capacity - FC), T50 (50% FC), and T25 (25% FC), with 50 replicates per treatment. Plant growth and reproduction were monitored and differences were tested using General Linear Models. In T50 there was a decrease in diameter growth and in the production and morphometry of flowers, fruits, and seeds, as well as delays in plant phenology, not interfering with leaf production and growth in height. Reduction in anthesis time and change in flower staining were verified in T50. There was a total absence of flowering and fruiting in T25, besides the drastic reductions in growth. In general, we suggest that increasing soil water restrictions may be negative for herb growth and reproduction, but we do not rule out that reductions in attributes can be considered as water-saving strategies. However, the predicted effect of reducing rainfall in dry forests will compromise the reproductive success and population growth of a drought-tolerant herb.

干旱的热带森林中的土壤水分可利用性取决于降雨的非均质性，其可能会因未来的气候变化而改变。预测的水限制可能会修改草本成分在威胁其生存的资源分配中的策略。我们的目的是了解的营养，生殖和物候反应土人参在减少土壤水供应的模拟条件下。它是一种用于传统医学（例如非常规植物性食品和动物饲料）的耐旱草药。总共有150个草药个体接受了三种缺水处理：T100（对照； 100％田间持水量-FC），T50（50％FC）和T25（25％FC），每次处理重复50次。监测植物的生长和繁殖，并使用通用线性模型测试差异。在T50中，直径增长以及花朵，水果和种子的产量和形态降低，并且植物物候延迟，但不干扰叶片产量和高度增长。在T50中证实了开花时间的减少和花色的变化。T25完全没有开花结果。除了大幅减少增长。一般而言，我们建议增加土壤水分限制可能对草本植物的生长和繁殖不利，但我们不排除将属性降低视为节水策略。但是，减少干旱森林中降雨的预期效果将损害耐旱草药的繁殖成功和种群增长。