Fleshy fruits can be divided between climacteric (CL, showing a typical rise in respiration and ethylene production with ripening after harvest) and non-climacteric (NC, showing no rise). However, despite the importance of the CL/NC traits in horticulture and the fruit industry, the evolutionary significance of the distinction remains untested. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that NC fruits, which ripen only on the plant, are adapted to tree dispersers (feeding in the tree), and CL fruits, which ripen after falling from the plant, are adapted to ground dispersers. A literature review of 276 reports of 80 edible fruits found a strong correlation between CL/NC traits and the type of seed disperser: fruits dispersed by tree dispersers are more likely to be NC, and those dispersed by ground dispersers are more likely to be CL. NC fruits are more likely to have red–black skin and smaller seeds (preferred by birds), and CL fruits to have green–brownish skin and larger seeds (preferred by large mammals). These results suggest that the CL/NC traits have an important but overlooked seed dispersal function, and CL fruits may have an adaptive advantage in reducing ineffective frugivory by tree dispersers by falling before ripening.

肉质果实可分为跃变型（CL，在收获后成熟时表现出典型的呼吸作用和乙烯产量上升）​​和非跃变型（NC，没有上升）。然而，尽管 CL/NC 性状在园艺和水果工业中很重要，但这种区别的进化意义仍未得到检验。在这项研究中，我们检验了仅在植物上成熟的 NC 果实适应树分散器（在树中觅食）和从植物掉落后成熟的 CL 果实适应地面分散器的假设。对 80 种可食用水果的 276 份报告进行文献回顾发现 CL/NC 性状与种子分散器类型之间存在很强的相关性：树木分散器分散的果实更可能是 NC，而地面分散器分散的果实更可能是 CL . NC 果实更可能有红黑色的果皮和较小的种子（鸟类更喜欢），而 CL 果实更可能有绿褐色的皮肤和更大的种子（大型哺乳动物更喜欢）。这些结果表明 CL/NC 性状具有重要但被忽视的种子传播功能，并且 CL 果实可能在通过在成熟前下降来减少树木传播者的无效果食方面具有适应性优势。