Maybe it's like this - the pepper growing in a particular
location needs to spread its seed, but not too far for
risk that soil conditions will change with distance.
So, an animal comes by and bites the pepper and shakes
its head once it senses the taste - the pepper/seeds get flung
around. That's just my out-of-da-box idea... Or, maybe
it's as you say - birds don't sense it and poop the seeds here
and there. If birds are bothered, it's possible the pepper
just reproduces on a local basis without the need to spread
much. ??? botanists out there ???

Steve wrote:
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