The word landrace is thrown around a lot when it comes to discussing which strain of cannabis is right for you.
When a cannabis strain is referred to as being a 'landrace', it is a description of the genetic purity of the strain. A landrace is a species of cannabis that is native to a particular geographical region and represents the strain most likely to grow in the wild at that location. There are different landraces native to different regions, each with their own unique variations, determined by the environment to which the landrace is adapted.
One easy way to find out if you're enjoying a landrace species of cannabis is in the name. Swazi Gold is a landrace found in Swaziland, and Chocolate Thai is a landrace found in Thailand. It is common for a landrace to have the name of the geographical location in which it is found included in the nomenclature.
Cannabis strains diverge, genetically-speaking, from the original landrace, as seeds are taken from their native location and grown in different parts of the world. There is no perfect way to recreate the environment in which the landrace would naturally grow in the wild, and even slight variations in things like temperature, humidity, and soil type will cause mutations in cultivated plants.
These mutations are what enable growers to combine favorable features (like shorter flowering times and higher yields). This can also mean that purer landrace strains are more difficult to find.
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