About Landrace Strains

Landrace strains are known as the cream of the crop when it comes to cannabis genetics. They’re the backbone of breeding hybrids, being pure strains, cultivated in their natural environment, and never cross-bred with another variety. A landrace strain is extremely stable in its properties when comparing one plant to another because they’ve survived multiple generations of inbreeding underneath natural sunlight, and in natural soil.

Generally, landrace strains are named after the location they’ve been found to grow in. This is why you’ll notice some strains are named simply Afghanistan or Pakistan – regions known to grow natural indica varieties. Lamb’s Bread is a sativa landrace strain from Jamaica, and Acapulco Gold can be found growing in Mexico - with Durban Poison being from Africa and Panama Red being from Central America.

While a landrace strain can now be found growing on nearly every continent, it wasn’t always so. It’s believed the very first cannabis plant originates from Central Asia, with records of it being used as far back as 2900 B.C. for food, fodder, fiber, medicines, and religious rituals. It was when humans decided to cultivate it, trade it, and travel with it that it spread across the earth and began to adapt to newfound environmental conditions with the help of local cultivators.

Because cannabis naturally growing outside of Central Asia has had generations upon generations to grow freely, adapt to its environment, and evolve its genetic composition, such strains can now be called landrace strains.

Finding a landrace strain can sometimes be a mission, since variety currently drives today’s cannabis market. Cultivators are obsessed with finding new strains to call their own by crossing hybrids with hybrids, and consumers enjoy exploring new, creatively named strains with varying cannabinoid percentages. Hybrids might be taking over, but their genes can always be traced to one or more landrace strains.