Eli5: why do chilli plants turn red to attract animals to disperse seeds but also produce the spicy chemical to put them off?

Question

Eli5: why do chilli plants turn red to attract animals to disperse seeds but also produce the spicy chemical to put them off?

In: 6541

Answer 1

Plants benefit from their seeds being eaten because it helps spread them further and the seed is deposited with it’s own pod manure. However, it is more beneficial for the chili to be eaten by birds because mammals chew their food and thus damage the seeds.

Birds can’t taste capsaicin. So the chili plants with red fruits and lots of capsaicin is more likely to attract birds and repel mammals and thus more likely to produce offspring.