Question

How garden pea (Pisum sativum) proved to be a suitable plant for Mendel’s work?

Answer 1

Garden pea (Pisum sativum) was suitable for Mendel’s work because it had many pure breeding varieties with distinct contrasting traits. Its flowers are bisexual and self-pollinating, yet cross-pollination could be easily controlled by removing anthers. The plants produce numerous seeds in a short time, and hybrids were fertile. These features allowed Mendel to perform controlled experiments and observe inheritance patterns clearly using seven contrasting characters.