Gregor Mendel used which plant to discover genetics?

• A. Tomato Plant
• B. Pea Plant
• C. Corn Plant
• D. Bean Plant

Answer: (B)

Studying inheritance works best when the organism shows clear, countable traits, and where you can precisely control which plant fertilizes which, while getting many offspring quickly. Gregor Mendel chose the pea plant because Pisum sativum offers many true-breeding varieties with distinct, single-character traits (such as round vs. wrinkled seeds or tall vs. dwarf plants) that appear in obvious categories. He could easily manipulate pollination—removing the flower’s stamens to prevent self-pertilization and then applying pollen from a chosen mate—and peas have a short generation time, producing a lot of offspring. This combination lets patterns emerge clearly, like dominant and recessive traits appearing in predictable ratios, which led to the fundamental ideas about how traits are inherited. While other plants exist, peas provided the ideal constraints and observations that made Mendel’s discoveries possible.