An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel is credited as being the father of genetics due to his studies in the mid-1800s on the crossbreeding of peas. Corn was the first widely marketed hybrid veggie of note, becoming very important around the time of the Depression. The term: “hybrid vigor” is derived from an apparent hardiness and strength observed in crossbred plants. Rose growers appreciate hybrid vigor in most popular species. In fact, these plants (the joining of their parents for specific trait production) are patented and illegal to personally propagate.