Why do some fruits continue to ripen after they’re picked (bananas, avocados), but others don’t?

Cool things I learned this week: Why do some fruits continue to ripen after they’re picked (bananas, avocados), but others don’t (grapes, berries)?

The answer: It depends on what type of animals help propagate the fruit’s seeds.

If a fruit is mainly eaten (therefore propagated) by land animals, then it’s evolutionarily beneficial for it to continue to ripen after it falls from the tree.

But if a fruit is mainly eaten by birds or arboreal creatures (creatures living in trees), then there’s no advantage to continued ripening once it’s fallen to the ground.

Super cool!!!