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