The fruits ripen in ca. 3 months and when mature fragment into indehiscent one-seed segments. The bristles covering the pods facilitate floating and enhance dispersal along river systems. In evergreen forests a few flowers and fruits are found throughout the year. Anthesis takes place about 8 days after bud formation and another month is necessary for the production of mature seed pods.
Seeds generally germinate when they are first wetted and the germination rate is high.
In seasonally flooded areas fibrous adventitious roots develop around the base of the multiple stems. Mycorrhizae have been found associated with few strains of Rhizobium . However these associations are rare and it is not clear how important a source of nitrogen they are to populations of M. pigra . Following natural fires the plants resprout freely. The shrub does not naturally reproduce vegetatively.