4 ms·

It is interesting though. Why would a plant evolve to kill animals when the purpose of a berry is to spread seed through consumption?

• viklove 7y ago
  > purpose of a berry is to spread seed through consumption That's not the purpose of the berry. The purpose is just to ensure the survival of the seed. In drought-stricken environments, the seed is probably better off keeping its shell of water and fructose until it can form a root system.
• MikeAmelung 7y ago
  It is pretty interesting. I think if you remember that it's just random the way things get selected for, it's a little easier to understand. It's not like the plants decided over a generation or two to start killing things. In a lot of cases, birds could eat the berries and be fine and continue to spread the plant all over.
• s1artibartfast 7y ago
  One possible explanation is that many plants and berries which are poisonous to humans are not poisonous to other animals. For other plants it may be advantageous to be poisonous to one species and not another
• nwallin 7y ago
  Holly berries taste delicious to birds, but are slightly toxic to mammals. (enough to cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but not to kill you) Birds don't have receptors for capsaicin, the chemical that makes chilies spicy, which makes most mammals (but not humans) not eat them. Deadly nightshade isn't toxic to birds. Birds tend to travel farther during any given time period than (typically terrestrial) mammals do, making them better at spreading seeds over a wide area. So it's evolutionarily advantageous for plants to optimize their fruits to be eaten by birds instead of mammals.