Mistletoe Is a Plant That Lives on Trees and Gains

Multiple Choice

Mistletoe is a plant that lives on trees and gains nutrition from them (that is, it is a parasite) . The fruit of the mistletoe is a one-seeded berry and is consumed by birds. In members of the mistletoe genus Viscum, the outside of the seed is sticky, which permits the seed to adhere to surfaces such as the branches of host plants or the beaks of birds. What should be expected of the fruit if the stickiness of Viscum seeds is primarily an adaptation for dispersal rather than an adaptation for infecting host plant tissues?

A) The fruit is drab in color.
B) The fruit is colored so as to provide it with camouflage.
C) The fruit is nutritious to the dispersing organisms.
D) The fruit secretes enzymes that can digest bark.