What does the term

A plant that produces seed that are true to type are called pure line plants. A plant that is a pure line has a heritable phenotype will produce only offspring with that same phenotype. The genotype of a pure line plant is homozygous. Plants that are pure line and occur in nature are self pollinated plants. Cross pollinated plants, either by nature or by man to make hybrids, are heterozygous and the seeds do not produce true to type plants.




In simple terms, it means they will always grow the same... year after year. generation after generation (of plants).





Grow them this year, save some of the seeds from whatever it is you are growing, plant them next year and you will have the same looking, feeling, smelling, tasting, textured, etc. that you have this year.





Now, if you grow several varieties of say, peppers, next to each other, there is a high probability of ending up with an F1 Hybrid. (The first generation of a cross between 2 different parents that are not true breeding for the same traits) In this case, you will not end up with 'true to type' seeds.




It signifies that the plant would reproduce itself to exactly the plant it reproduced from.


Hybrids will not produce true to type. An example is when hybrid tomatoes revert to the cherry tomato for the second generation, Hybruds are developed by cross breeding for desired characteristics.