Landrace cannabis is a cultivated cannabis population that has evolved over time in a specific geographic region, shaped by local environmental pressures and the selection practices of farmers. Cannabis landraces are genetically diverse and locally adapted, often valued for distinctive traits such as flavour, resilience or suitability for traditional uses.
The defining mechanism of landrace maintenance is mass selection, in which farmers save seed in bulk from open-pollinated populations rather than from individually selected plants. This sustains genetic diversity within a recognisable population while applying gradual selection pressure toward locally favoured traits. Landraces are dynamic rather than static and continue to evolve through ongoing seed exchange and occasional introgression.
Cannabis landraces face pressures distinct from most food-crop landraces. Decades of prohibition and eradication have disrupted traditional growing regions and the rapid global spread of high-yield hybrids has driven extensive genetic displacement. … read more →
