Thanks for the correction to my sloppy use
of language; it’s easy for an amateur to lapse, & I realize the distinction’s
important.
If I rephrase, along the lines of my other
question, “could poisonous mushrooms have evolved to kill?” (which I would like
to change to “could poisonous plants have
evolved to kill?”), it would read “could hallucinogenic plants have evolved to use
hallucinogenic effects to their advantage?”
So what I’m suggesting, with both
questions, is that these effects aren’t accidental, & that the plant gains
somehow. After all, plenty of plants taste nasty, without these effects. In the
case of mushrooms, you have a mycelium, which might be gaining (eg from
minerals – cf insect-eating plants).
Apparently reindeer are very keen on fly
agaric…
