Hopar Valley
More actions
| Hopar Valley | |
|---|---|
| ActiveCannabis last recorded here in 2022 | |
| |
| Fields and poplars at Hopar in spring | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Growing Region | Karakoram |
| Geography | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province/State | Gilgit-Baltistan |
| District | Nagar District |
| Coordinates | 36.23, 74.76 |
| Landscape | |
| Area | 100 km² |
| Terrain | Villages beside the Bualtar Glacier, in the Karakoram; approximately the part of the Hispar River basin round Hopar and the Bualtar Glacier, below 3,500 m |
| Growing history | |
| Dated accessions | 2022 |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 0 |
| Accessions | 1 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Hopar Valley is a landrace cannabis growing area in Nagar District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, in the Karakoram growing region. Seed collected there in the winter of 2022 is sold by The Real Seed Company under the name Hopar Valley, for charas (sieved resin), culinary seed and bhang.[1] The donor's note with the same seed in the United States genebank calls it a landrace cultivated in the upper Hopar Valley.[2]
Geography
The villages of Hopar stand beside the Bualtar Glacier, which flows off the northern slope of the Lesser Karakoram towards the Hispar River. The glacier is about 20 km long and covers 84 km² between 7,250 and 2,440 m. There is evidence that its snout advanced far enough within the 20th century to block the Hispar River. Hopar people cross the glacier regularly to reach pastures, other villages and firewood. When it surged in 1987, crevassing between Bualtar and Hopar was noticed from January, and by May it was no longer possible to take animals across near Hopar; the yearly move of herds to the summer pastures had to go round the glacier by a longer route until crossings resumed in August.[3]
Traditional cultivation
The Real Seed Company puts the harvest in late September and October, and says that many of the plants showed purple colouring when the seed was collected.[1] The donor's note in the genebank lists the same three uses as the seller: culinary seed, bhang from the leaf and seeded flower, and dry-sieved charas.[2]
In Gilgit-Baltistan cannabis is called thoonch, and in Nagar and Hunza its seed is used as a medicine.[4]
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Collected |
|---|---|---|
| RSC-PAK-GIL-0120220001 | Hopar Valley General Population 2022 |
The seed of 2022 is also held by the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System under the number G 33713, received in August 2023.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hopar Valley". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "G 33713, Cannabis sativa L., Hopar Valley". GRIN-Global. USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ Gardner, James S.; Hewitt, Kenneth (1990). "A Surge of Bualtar Glacier, Karakoram Range, Pakistan: A Possible Landslide Trigger". Journal of Glaciology. 36 (123): 159–162. doi:10.3189/S0022143000009394.
- ↑ Salim, Muhammad Asad; Ranjitkar, Sailesh; Hart, Robbie; Khan, Tika; Ali, Sajid; Kiran, Chandni; Parveen, Asma; Batool, Zahra; Bano, Shanila; Xu, Jianchu (28 January 2019). "Regional trade of medicinal plants has facilitated the retention of traditional knowledge: case study in Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 15 6. doi:10.1186/s13002-018-0281-0.