Why did hot peppers evolve?

[Steve]

I was just reading some of the posts in the recent "cats?" thread. The discussion turned to hot pepper and it reminded me of something I have been wondering about.

Plants produce fruit for only one reason, right? To attract an animal to eat it and carry the seeds away to new locations. So why did hot peppers evolve to be so hot? It's almost like there must be an advantage to the plant to repel animals and keep the seeds from spreading. Well, that can't be. Is there an animal that is attracted to the hotness? I think I remember that birds aren't affected by hot peppers. Is that the key to my little mystery?

Steve

[Ed]

[Morten Bjergstr]

Steve skrev:

"Researchers think that the reason why chiles are pungent is an evolutionary depelopment to keep mammals from eating the chiles because mammals digestion system destroys the seeds. Capsaicin doesn't has the same influence on birds whose digestion system doesn't destroy the seeds. The seeds therefore passes unhindered and the birds are spreading the seeds widely securing the survival of the chile plants."

[Repeating Rifle]

in article 7NWdnRUS3s5HSy [e-mail], Steve at [e-mail] wrote on 6/17/05 6:57 AM:

Evolve? It must be intelligent design! After all, an anthropomorphic God enjoys a good laugh when someone is tricked into eating one of those bitty black things as well as the next guy.

Bill

[Ottawa]

[Gary Woods]

The duck-billed platypus is a dead giveaway, even more so than the babelfish.

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

[David]

I'm an animal and I'm attracted to chiles. Does that count?

David

[GA Pinhead]

lots more too!

John!

Steve wrote:

[Rez]

Maybe you are secretly a bird :D

~REZ~

[Maryc]

Alls it takes is a few humans eating hot peppers and putting the see

ream> I was just reading some of the posts in the recent "cats?" thread. The

-- Maryc

[Steve]

Thanks to all who gave a reply. I guess this is the most reasonable answer to my mind. There are many fruits that attract mammals and their seeds survive the trip through the digestive system. Maybe pepper seeds can't survive if eaten by a mammal and so developed this alternate plan. My first thought was that there are so many birds that are seed eaters that they must be able to digest seeds very well. If not, we wouldn't be attracting many birds to our winter bird feeders. On the other hand, when birds eat fruits such as Strawberries, I do believe the seeds survive. I've never seen a bird eat a pepper but I assume in their native habitat, there are birds that eat them.

Steve

[GA Pinhead]

Hence the name Bird Peppers for some of the wild types.

Now, more importantly, why did humans start eating them???

John!

Steve wrote:

[Dave]

And how did they manage to be both hot and harmless? Don't try eating poison ivy.

[B.Server]

{...}

I have a constant competition with the local mockingbinds (Central Texas) over which one of us will get the fruits of the wild chile pequins growing around my property. They (the mockingbirds) will patiently pluck and devour dozens of ripe fruit from a plant, then fly to the next to select their next course. FWIW they also have a great fondness for cherry tomatoes.

[Steve]

Thanks. I live far too far north to have any thing in the way of peppers growing wild. I'm also too far north for Mockingbirds to be common, if they ever come here at all. I remember them well from when I was growing up in Ohio.

Steve (in the Adirondacks of northern NY)