Drought is the major limiting abiotic factor for plant growth in Seasonally Tropical Dry Forests (STDF), affecting the leaf construction cost (LCC), and the strategies of carbon investment. This work aimed to investigate the influence of rainfall in LCC of three species with different growth forms (Cenostigma pyramidale (tree), Hyptis suaveolens (herbaceous) and Sida galheirensis (sub-shrub)) during three consecutive rainy seasons (2013-2015) in a STDF, and how LCC is related to environmental and physiological parameters. We tested the hypothesis that the herbaceous and sub-shrub species would show higher LCC than the tree species, and a higher acclimation capacity to environmental variation. We measured the water status, gas exchange, nitrogen use efficiency, specific leaf area (SLA), phenolics, LCC and the species' acclimation capacity. The predawn leaf water potential (psi(1)) was higher in H. suaveolens in 2014, which showed the highest difference between dry and wet years. CO2 assimilation was supported, in dry years, by the nitrogen use efficiency and the increase in SLA, which are characteristics of plants with acquisitive strategy. The LCC of H. suaveolens and S. galheirensis was related to rainfall and physiological parameters influenced by the water regime as psi(1). The herbaceous and sub-shrub species showed similar acclimation capacity, and their values were higher than those presented by the tree species. Non-woody species converge evolutionarily, and share some response patterns to water availability. We concluded that all species showed acquisitive strategy in carbon balance, but the ecophysiological responses of the herbaceous and sub-shrub species were more influenced by rainfall variability than the tree species.