In which organism did Gregor J. Mendel conduct the experiment to explain principles of inheritance?

Gregor Johann Mendel, often referred to as the father of genetics, conducted his pioneering experiments on the principles of inheritance using the garden pea (Pisum sativum) [1]. Between 1856 and 1863, he cultivated and tested nearly 30,000 pea plants in his monastery garden. Mendel chose the garden pea because it was easy to grow, had a short life cycle, and exhibited several distinct, contrasting visible characters such as plant height (tall vs. short), seed shape (round vs. wrinkled), and flower color (violet vs. white) [1][4]. By meticulously tracking these traits through successive generations and applying mathematical analysis to his results, he formulated the fundamental laws of inheritance, including the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment [1][2]. His work successfully discredited the then-popular 'blending theory' of inheritance.

Sources

1. [1] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: Heredity > Gregor Johann Mendel (1822–1884) > p. 130
2. [4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9335337/
3. [2] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: Heredity > 8.2.2 Rules for the Inheritance of Traits – Mendel's Contributions > p. 131