What term describes a trait masked in a hybrid?

A trait masked in a hybrid is called recessive. It may be present in an organism’s genetic makeup but not visible when paired with a dominant version of the same gene.

Mendel observed this pattern in pea plants. When true-breeding plants with contrasting traits were crossed, the first-generation hybrids usually displayed the dominant trait. The alternative trait seemed to vanish, but it reappeared in the next generation when the inherited factors separated.

For example, Mendel’s crosses showed yellow seed colour behaving as dominant over green in his studied varieties. A hybrid carrying one version associated with each colour typically looked yellow, while green reappeared when an offspring inherited two recessive versions.

“Recessive” does not mean weaker, less common, or unimportant. It describes how a version of a gene is expressed in a particular genetic combination. Modern genetics also recognises incomplete dominance, codominance, and many traits influenced by multiple genes, so not every inheritance pattern fits the simplest Mendelian model.