What does it mean if an individual is pure for a trait?

Being pure for a trait refers to having two identical alleles for that specific characteristic. This means that the individual is homozygous for that trait, which can be either two dominant alleles or two recessive alleles. For example, if "T" represents a dominant allele for tallness in plants and "t" represents a recessive allele for shortness, an individual that is pure for tallness would have the genotype "TT," while one that is pure for shortness would have the genotype "tt." This genetic uniformity ensures that the individual will consistently express the same trait in its phenotype, allowing for predictable inheritance patterns in offspring. This understanding of being pure for a trait is critical in genetics, especially in breeding and studying inheritance.