Why are some fruit poisonous? Shouldn’t fruit be more edible so that more animals eat it and disperse the seeds?

Question

Why are some fruit poisonous? Shouldn’t fruit be more edible so that more animals eat it and disperse the seeds?

In: 3

Answer 1

Poison Ivy is a good example of spreading by animals eating the fruit but which is extremely poisonous to humans. Our digestive system would render the seeds useless but not in animals with high fiber diets such as deer, goats, and some bird species.