It’s thought that cannabis first originated from the Hindu Kush mountain range located between Pakistan and Afghanistan, this is one of the reasons the term “kush” is included within the name of most strains.
Thousands of years ago our ancestors , whilst migrating stumbled upon cannabis growing wild at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains.
They enjoyed the effects from the plant so much that they spread cannabis across the world.
Cannabis seeds (the seed not the plant!) are hardy and can survive in adverse conditions, because of this the cannabis plant successfully evolved and adapted to survive in different geological locations around the world.
Depending on their position in the world, the cannabis plant produced different characteristics and were genetically different thus creating strains.
These original cannabis strains are called Landrace strains.
What are Landrace Strains?
A landrace cannabis strain is a virgin (not cross-bred) cannabis strain that has grown in its natural geological location, with native growing conditions.
Defining a landrace strain can become a little muddled, as there is a lot of variation and definitions. A landrace strain can only truly be considered as one if it’s grown in its native environment.
For example, if you took Hindu Kush, a landrace strain from Asia and planted it in Mexico, South America it would no longer be considered a landrace strain due to it no longer growing in its natural geological location.
So, even if you were successful in recreating the growing conditions of a landrace strain, if the plant isn’t grown in the land it’s native to it’s not a landrace strain, it’s now something called a ‘heirloom’ strain.
The growing conditions (hours of daylight, humidity, soil type etc) for cannabis plants plays a huge part in the genetics and characteristics of the plant, which is why defining landrace strains can become confusing, change the conditions and the strain will produce different qualities.
Landrace strains found in warmer regions tend to be sativa strains like Thai and Acapulco Gold grow tall with large, thin leaves. Where as landrace strains found in colder regions tend to be Indicas like Hindu Kush and Afghan that grow short with thick, busy leaves.
Credit: grobo.io
Why are Landrace Strains Important?
Without landrace strains we wouldn’t have the wide variety of cannabis strains we know of today such as, Ammo Kush, Stardawg and haze.
All strains, apart from landrace strains are ‘hybrid’ strains, which means they’ve been cross-bred and have two parent strains.
Crossbreeding of cannabis plants first started in 1970. They found if they took two strains and bred them together it created a new strain with the desired characteristics from both parent strains and in some cases eliminated unwanted characteristics.
30 years later and growers are no longer interested in landrace strains as they aren’t as potent as the hybrid strains we’ve created today.
Scientists estimate that there are still over 100 landrace cannabis strains in existence and although it can’t be confirmed, it is believed a number of landrace strains have been lost to time and are extinct.
But losing landrace strains aren’t considered a huge deal in the cannabis community as we no longer desire or benefit from their genetics. However it’s always nice to appreciate where our favourite strains originated from and how it got to where it is today and to try and preserve nature.
Can I find out which landrace strain my favourite strain comes from?
Viewing the family tree of a strain is one of my favourite things to do whenever I try a new strain and Leafly.com is the best place to do so! It’s super easy to use and is very interactive.
To view the family tree of a strain you’ll need to first get the strains profile up by typing the name into the search bar on http://www.leafly.com. Scroll right to the bottom and the family tree will be under the section “[Strain Name] Genetics”.
FYI – Once you’ve clicked into another strain, it will then take you to that strains profile so you’ll need to scroll to the bottom again to view the family tree.
Your only able to view the parents and children of a strain, so you’ll need to click through a few times if you want to find the landrace strain (depending on how many times its been cross-bred will depend on how many times you have to click).
leafly.com
Meet the Strain Hunters
When the breeding of cannabis first started, a group of cannabis activists and researchers formed with the mission to find and preserve all of the landrace and exotic cannabis seeds hidden in the world.
Over the past 50 years the Stain Hunters have successfully collected and preserved a huge number of landrace cannabis seeds and have won countless awards at the cannabis cup.
You can read more about the Strain Hunters and their mission in my blog post: Meet the strain hunters (TBC)
Can I try a Landrace Cannabis Strain?
As we now know, a cannabis landrace strain has to be grown in its native environment, so to sample an authentic landrace strain you’ll need to take a trip to the country the strain is indigenous too.
and can only really trusted to be legit if you take a trip to the region the landrace strain is indigenous to.
And due to its unpopularity landrace strains grown in native country’s aren’t shipped to western country’s like the USA or Amsterdam so they aren’t available in dispensary’s.
However in some dispensary’s you can get your hands on “heirloom” strains.
These strains contain the same genetics as Landrace strains but as they aren’t grown in their natural environment they aren’t true landrace strains.
Maybe in the future we will see a rise in demand and a return of landrace strains.
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Featured photo: Reddit user u/antennaalient
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