Landrace map
AN EVER-INCREASING NUMBER of commercial Cannabis breeders are developing Autoflowering Cannabis seeds for use in commercial production and also for sale to home gardeners. As a result, there are plenty of Autoflowering varieties from which to choose seed, with more coming online all the time. These are available to grow and for your own breeding program, should you decide to experiment.
For a home gardener, the seed selection process can be overwhelming, if not bewildering. (It is no different with tomato selections!) The confusion is for three reasons, not the least of which is that most gardeners do not yet have experience with various types of Autoflowering Cannabis plants. You gradually learned about plum, heritage, early, and other types of tomatoes. It is the same with Autoflowering Cannabis.
Next, there isn’t a standardized system for naming varieties based on proven genetics. This allows plants to be named after such diverse things as pets, fruits, breakfast cereals, girlfriends, famous people, and all manner of locations around the world. There is even one variety named for a US president (Obama Kush).
The third reason there is confusion is because most of the varieties of seed today are either the results of efforts to grow better Cannabis during prohibition or the progeny of those efforts. Again, all of this breeding work was done underground because of prohibition. There was little cross communication among the community of growers and little help from universities and researchers. Nor was it possible to grow in the best places, unimpeded.
What we know now is that unless you have a DNA test done on your plants, there is no way to be sure what you are really growing. Still, there are a few ways to help make the determination as to what seeds you want to grow.
The best is to have test results. It is now possible to determine the chemical contents of Cannabis. Initially, tests concentrated on THC and CBD percentages. Today, there is a growing (literally) recognition that terpenes and flavonoids are also important, and many breeders are including these in their test reports. Yours will not be an exact duplicate, but what you grow should be close to what the breeder’s numbers reveal.
If there are no test results available, then you should next study the plant’s ancestry. The names of Autoflowering Cannabis varieties often mimic the names of their established and well-known larger cousins. Those selling seed almost always provide cultural information that includes an explanation of the plant’s lineage. If this information is not found on the seed package, look for a website to supplement handouts at stores. (See Resources.)
The point is, if you know some of the standby, popular, big-plant Cannabis types, it will help in understanding what you are growing or want to grow in terms of Autoflowering Cannabis. This is particularly so as more and more efforts are underway to identify and use landraces now that prohibition allows for a concerted and open effort to commercialize Cannabis.
Landraces have always been great for Cannabis breeding purposes. They are genetically stable, 100% sativa or 100% indica, and relatively rare. This made them ideal for developing new varieties. They were collected in the 1960s and ‘70s and are now often hoarded for commercial breeding purposes.
All of the seeds available for growing Cannabis today owe their genetics to approximately 40 of these landrace strains. If there is a country in the name of a Cannabis strain, it is most likely either a landrace or a very close descendant of one. Well-known sativa landrace varieties include Acapulco Gold, Durban Poison, and Panama Red. Perhaps the best-known landrace indica is Hindu Kush.
Knowing the landraces used for breeding is useful because each does have stable traits. Each has its own unique flavor and profile of terpenes and cannabinoids. It is worth noting a few. You will quickly become familiar with them as you get deeper into growing Auto-flowers. This information will help you choose which seed varieties to grow.
Hindu Kush is the most famous of these strains, which are all indica. In fact, as a group they are often known as Hindu Kush. They were originally grown at high altitudes, where it is very dry, and were grown to make hashish, which demands lots and lots of trichomes. They produce profusely from small plants because they develop lots of branches.
The most famous Hindu Kush landrace is Afghani, also known as Affie or Afghani #1. It became the basis for all breeding programs because it ripens in mid-October when started in the spring. This was very early for Cannabis growers as most are not harvestable until December and even January.
The relatively short growing season (wow, what would an Autoflower have done for them?) meant you could grow outdoors without using a greenhouse. Hindu Kush was used for a lot of hybrids because of this. They are small and stocky plants with lots of resin production so, when you grew them clandestinely indoors, you didn’t need as much space.
In addition to Hindu Kush, Lashkar Gah and Mazar i Sharif are other less well-known varieties. Progeny of breeding programs using these include Bubba Kush and Purple Afghani.
These plants were grown from seed imported from India by workers and advisors the British brought to Jamaica to work plantations. They are all sativas and produce a very strong psychoactive response when used.
The famous reggae singer Bob Marley grew up in Jamaica. Lamb’s Bread and King’s Bread were his most beloved Caribbean landrace strains.
Mexico, Panama, Columbia, and many other South American countries are home to famous landraces. Some of these were developed in the mountains and others on the low plains, but all had the advantage of a great equatorial growing season. These are all sativa plants and were also developed from plants brought over to the Western Hemisphere by workers who first arrived in the Caribbean.
Producing a long central stem and lots of THC, but also CBD and CBNA, the most well-known South American landrace is Colombian Gold. It was an early favorite in the 60s. Less well-known, but utilized for all manner of breeding, are Cali Hills, Punto Rojo, and Santa Marta Gold. These have been used to breed Cheese, Skunk, and Haze.
Africa has a long history of cultivating Cannabis. It is home to some of the most interesting landrace strains. Given the size of the continent, these can be very different.
The most famous African landraces are Malawi Gold and Durban Poison. Both plants take advantage of a long growing season. They produce tremendous amounts of resin. They are both sativa strains.
You may encounter Swazi Gold and Kilimanjaro, both obviously African. These are sturdy plants with buds that have elongated calyxes and very few leaves. They tend to flower for a long time and are known for producing a sweet resin.
Thai landrace strains have special elongated flowers with a fantastic citrus aroma and strong psychoactive effects. Plants have high amounts of THC and low amounts of CBCA and CBD. They are all sativa, and the most famous are Thai, Aceh, and Chocolate Thai; and Luang Prabang from Laos.
Ever since the 60s, the search has been on for North American landrace strains. They have been found in Mexico with Acapulco Gold, and there is a Hawaiian strain known as Maui Wowie.
There is a landrace strain for every region. It doesn’t matter if you are in Morocco, Lebanon, Russia, or Pakistan, there is most probably at least one landrace variety worthy of including in a breeding program. Again, you should note the presence of countries in names, as this is the big tip-off that you have a strain with landrace ancestors.
In addition to pure landraces, there are some modern bred varieties that have enough cachet to be famous. These are sought-after and are the basis of many commercial breeding programs.
The home gardener should recognize some of the very well-known varieties sold in dispensaries and used for breeding purposes. When you see the names of these in the variety or its lineage, they indicate unique characteristics. Look for them.
This one has to be on the top of most lists. According to friend George Van Patten, aka Jorge Cervantes, it is found in the genetics of 10 to 15 percent of all Cannabis. This sativa was developed in the 1960s and ‘70s in Santa Cruz, California, and is said to have Colombian, Mexican, Thai, and Indian sativa in its genes. These are all narrow-leaf sativa varieties. The plant is known for its pine and lemon tastes and is at once both sweet and spicy.
The buds of Haze plants are thin, so it does not make a good cross for bud size; look for other advantages, like its disease resistance and the long period before it produces seeds, which could make some of its genes useful when you want to develop a strain you can clone.
Look for Super Silver Haze and Lemon Haze, two famous off-breeds using Haze genetics. They show what breeding can do for a varietal strain.
Hindu Kush can produce some very strong psychoactivity. This is a true Kush, meaning it was originally developed for use as a hash plant. The flowers were meant to be dried and sifted to recover the trichomes. It is an Afghani indica that dates back to at least the 13th century.
The harvest from these plants tends to impart a very sedative effect. The taste is often described as harsh or raw. This is because these plants were really originally bred for producing hash.
Skunk? What kind or name is that for something that you might ingest? Still, a lot of Dutch-produced seeds have this in their genes, and Cervantes suggests that 30% of all Cannabis has this strain in their genes. When it was developed and released, it was like a revolution in the world of Cannabis breeding.
It is hard to believe, but Skunk actually tastes sweet. It is sativa and produces a very strong “head” high. It has a lot of both Columbian and Acapulco Gold, which actually makes it an indica-sativa mix. Its colas are nice and thick, just the thing to breed into an Auto-flower. And it flowers early, in usually between 50 and 70 days.
This landrace from Afghanistan has been bred and bred ever since it was brought to the United States in the 1970s. Today, Afghan or Afghani #1 or Affie is the foundation of almost every single indica plant breed.
Afghan is often considered the variety that gave rise to the prohibition-era reputation of a Cannibis with a killer (meaning very good) stoner effect. It is strong. It has lots of myrcene and has a distinct, sedative couch-lock impact on users, as opposed to a cerebral high.
It is unclear what the AK stands for in this variety, but it makes sense for it to be Afghan Kush. What is certain is that the name has nothing to do with the AK-47 machine gun used in Afghanistan at the time of its “discovery.” That part of the name probably comes from the Dutch labeling system used during breeding development.
AK-47 is an unusual plant in that it develops phenotypes, that is, plants from the same seeds that look different. They can be either broad-leafed or narrow-leafed. Amazingly, plants can appear to be sativa or indica, depending on phenotype.
AK-47 is a mix of Thai, Afghan, and Brazilian genetics. It has a blend of myrcene and beta-caryophyllene. This gives it a split personality, as would be expected from a variety that produces so many phenotypes. It can be disorienting at times but cause the user to become focused at others.
From the West Coast of Canada (some say the American Northwest), Northern Lights is an indica-sativa mix that became very popular in the 80s and continues to be so today. It has a very piney taste that is also sweet. It is an extremely popular strain to cross with other plants, including Autoflowering Cannabis, perhaps because it has northern genetics and produces quickly. Northern Lights has great yields. Better, they come after only 65 days or so.
Northern Lights has lots of pinene, as the taste reveals, but also myrcene and beta-caryophyllene. It produces an almost psychedelic and fast high—not likely to be the best experience for beginners to using Cannabis.
This is a very famous cross that really took over the Cannabis world for a time. Its smell is reminiscent of the blueberries that also grow in Oregon, where the strain was developed.
These plants have a nice stimulating high and a reputation for helping with appetite. They have uplift from limonene due to their Thai and Mexican genes and a bit of sedation due to the myrcene from their Afghan genes. The unusual stimulating high does not prevent one from going to sleep.
Blueberry smells just like blueberries with a hint of spice and was crossed with Haze to produce another variety with fantastic taste and appeal, Blue Dream. In fact, there are a lot of Cannabis varieties with Blue in the name that derive genetics from D.J. Short’s efforts, such as Azure Dream. This an example (and proof) that breeding is a never-ending process and you never know what you might develop.
This is an example of using popular strains for breeding. It is a cross between Blueberry and Haze. This is a mix that makes Blue Dream both relaxing and stimulating. It also is a good example of a silly name, as there is little dreaming with this strain. It is not a couch lock Cannabis. It is, however, an easy to grow plant (a dream to grow?) developed in California. Blue Dream has a reputation for needing tremendous amounts of water.
There is a debate whether OG stands for Organically Grown or Original Grow, but according to another story, this was Kush grown near the ocean as opposed to in the mountains. Ocean Grown, hence the OG.
All manner of Cannabis is sold under the appellation OG. (Only genetics will reveal the truth, but at least you won’t assume it stands for organic!) Regardless, OG Kush is known for being very strong and flavorful. It seems to have Afghan, Nepali, and Thai genetics.
OG Kush has an orangey, citrusy taste but not a tart one. Full of uplifting limonene and lots of myrcene as well, it is full of other terpenes, including beta-caryophyllene, linalool, and alpha-humulene. The high it imparts can be very strong, and many would say this is not a Cannabis for beginners.
With increasing interest in CBD, breeders developed high-CBD breeds. These became all the rage after it was demonstrated on a national US news show that one plant, called Charlotte’s Web, greatly improved the life of a young girl who has a severe form of seizures. A breeding frenzy ensued.
One of the most famous results of these efforts is Cannatonic, a Cannabis good for relaxing muscles, but usually with little THC and thus little psychoactivity. Other similar varieties include Harlequin and Granny Durkel. (Where do they come up with these names?)
As noted, there are always new varieties of Cannabis coming in to the market. Autoflowering seed variety has increased exponentially from the early days of those first Lowryders. Throughout, there has been homage paid to the early varieties of Cannabis that made what we have today.
As you now know, breeding Autoflowering Cannabis is within the reach of the home gardener, should you decide to try your hand at it. If you do breed your own, keep the important lineage in the name, or at least keep track of it. You never know where your efforts may end up!