Which plant did Gregor Mendel use in his famous inheritance experiments?

Pisum sativum was the plant Gregor Mendel used in his famous inheritance experiments.

Mendel cultivated garden peas at St. Thomas’s Abbey in Brno during the 1850s and 1860s. He crossed pea varieties with contrasting traits, including seed shape, seed color, flower color, and plant height.

His results led to principles now called Mendel’s laws of inheritance, including segregation and independent assortment. Mendel published his work in 1866, but its importance was not widely recognized until around 1900.

Peas were especially useful because they have distinct traits, short generation times, and flowers that can self-pollinate or be cross-pollinated by hand. The species is also grown as a food crop and is commonly called the garden pea.