Britannica Sources used in this answer

Which seven traits did Gregor Mendel study in pea plants?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Four kittens with different fur patterns-three tabby and one black-and-white-lying together in a box, illustrating genetic variation among offspring. — heredity Each offspring is a combination of its two parents, receiving some dominant traits from its mother and others from its father.

Gregor Mendel identified seven distinct, contrasting traits in the garden pea (Pisum sativum) to study the patterns of heredity. By focusing on these specific, easily observable characteristics, he was able to deduce the fundamental rules of genetics.12

The seven traits Mendel studied are:

Seed shape: Round versus wrinkled13
Seed colour: Yellow versus green12
Flower colour: Purple versus white1
Pod shape: Inflated versus constricted
Pod colour: Green versus yellow
Flower position: Axial versus terminal
Plant height: Tall versus short12

Mendel’s methodology involved crossing pure-breeding varieties that differed in these traits and tracking the inheritance patterns across successive generations. His quantitative analysis of these crosses led to the discovery of dominant and recessive alleles, as well as the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment.123