Can you never remember all seven of Snow White’s dwarfs? Then try the seven traits studied in peas by Mendel. Smooth or wrinkled seeds, yellow or green seeds, white or purple flowers… I used to stop there until I read about the latest study in Nature. Joining forces, the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, and the Institute of Agricultural Genomics in Shenzhen, China, have identified Mendel’s remaining genes—solving a conundrum in the history of science and laying the groundwork for a leap forward in the genetic improvement of a food crop that is nutritious but too often overlooked by geneticists.