[CH] Spines on Chiles
George Nelson (70431.3065@compuserve.com)
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 22:49:24 -0500
Dr. Chris Kaufman wondered whether chile plants could grow spines like
cacti to protect themselves against marauding mammals. In some places they
literally do the next thing to it.
I attended a lecture by a fellow who studied chiltepins in and near the
Tumacacori National Historical Park in southern AZ who found the
chiltepins which grew best were those living next to spiny trees or cacti.
They were there because birds would eat the fruits, fly along, roost among
the spines of other cacti or trees and pass the seeds to plant the next
generation. He was convinced this was an adaptive strategy by the peppers
to insure their survival in a land where tender vegetation was rare and a
young chile plant would be a welcome morsel were it not protected somehow.
George Nelson
70431.3065@compuserve.com