A trait in biology is a specific characteristic of an organism, such as eye color, height, leaf shape, or behavior. Traits can be influenced by genes, the environment, or both, and they are part of an organism’s phenotype.

Quick Scoop

  • Inherited traits are passed from parents to offspring, like hair color or blood type.
  • Environmental traits can be shaped by surroundings, such as body size affected by nutrition.
  • Traits can be qualitative like eye color or quantitative like height.

Simple Example

If two plants are the same species but one has red flowers and the other has white flowers, flower color is a trait. In many cases, genes help determine that trait, while conditions like light and soil can also affect how it shows up.

In one sentence

A trait is any observable or measurable feature of a living thing that helps describe what it is like.