| You may be have heard of Thai sticks or Afgahani | | | | result in a stable final seed that will contain the |
| Black from movies or friends and know they're | | | | attributes chosen by the breeder though variations |
| varieties of cannabis, but how about White Widow, | | | | will remain among the seeds. Unstable strains are |
| Dutch Passion Feminised or Lemon Haze? Unless | | | | much quicker to breed to these are not as desirable |
| you're an aficionado of cannabis, you probably won't | | | | and reputable seed vendors won't sell them. |
| be familiar with them. But the fact is there are | | | | One example of a cannabis strain grown for special |
| thousands of different strains of marijuana and more | | | | characteristics is lowryder. This is a hybrid strain of |
| are being developed regularly. Here's your guide to | | | | bred by The Joint Doctor and grows from seed to |
| some of these colourfully-named strains of cannabis. | | | | harvest in just 8 weeks. It also grows from a few |
| Cannabis, also known as marijuana or hemp, has been | | | | inches to 2 feet tall. |
| cultivated for millennia for industrial and medical use, | | | | Many of these strains are given evocative names by |
| as well as its psychoactive effects. Over the years, a | | | | their breeders. These names either reflect the |
| multitude of strains of marijuana have been | | | | properties of the plant or its origin. With so many |
| developed are development of new strains is ongoing | | | | new strains appearing, the breeders or growers need |
| to produce plants with better properties including | | | | to give them names to differentiate them. |
| such factors as taste and smell, colour and size of | | | | Some have names from Hinduism such as Mandala, |
| leaves, height and flowering time of the plants, and | | | | Sagarmartha and Nirvana, others more generalized |
| the level of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) the | | | | names such as Spice of Life, Mr Nice and the homey, |
| psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. | | | | Williams's Wonder. Some strains, such as Haze and |
| Essentially, cannabis strains are either pure breeds or | | | | Thai are named after plants found growing wild in |
| hybrids. The pure breeds are Sativa, Indica and | | | | certain parts of the world. |
| Ruderalis each of which has its own special | | | | So with all these thousands of strains to choose |
| characteristics. | | | | from, how do you go about choosing one? It all |
| Sativas are tall and thin with narrow leaves and are a | | | | depends on taste. The best thing to do is to go |
| lighter green. They originally come from Colombia, | | | | online to the website of a cannabis seed vendor and |
| Mexico, Thailand and Southeast Asia. Sativas have | | | | see what's on offer. You'll generally find hundreds of |
| tastes ranging from earthy to sweet and fruity. | | | | strains to choose from and usually the sites are |
| Indicas originated in Afghanistan, Morocco, and Tibet. | | | | illustrated. |
| They are shorter with broad leaves and of a darker | | | | Remember to choose a reputable dealer with a long |
| green. Tastes range from pungent to sweet and | | | | track record to make sure you don't buy |
| fruity. | | | | substandard strains such as the unstable ones. And |
| Cannabis Ruderalis is a subspecies of Cannabis Sativa | | | | bear in mind that all the names originate in the mind |
| that flowers very early. It's not popular owing to its | | | | of the breeder and may have little connection with |
| low THC content but is sometimes crossed with | | | | the plant itself. For this reason, if you're buying |
| other species to shorten flowering time. | | | | cannabis seeds, you shouldn't use an exotic name as |
| From these three familes but breeders have | | | | your main criterion. |
| developed a myriad strains each with its own | | | | So if you like the sound of cannabis strains such as |
| properties and many come with colourful names. | | | | super lemon haze and want to acquire some seeds |
| So how do breeders go about developing new strains | | | | of this exotic strain for your collection, you can buy |
| of marijuana? | | | | cannabis seeds online and have them delivered by |
| It's an involved process. The breeder needs to | | | | post. |
| selectively choose male and female cannabis plants | | | | It's perfectly legal to buy cannabis seeds in the UK as |
| and breed them for several generations. Seeds | | | | long as they're not for germination. You'll need to |
| produced by a germinated female will be F1 hybrids | | | | conform to local laws if you want them sent to |
| of both the male and female and have characteristics | | | | another country. Check one of the online cannabis |
| of both parents. Using advanced techniques can | | | | seed suppliers for more information. |