[MCRandle]

If you really think about it...the only reason South America and Central America get a lot of credit for great landraces because it's SUPER ABUNDANT.

The only reason there aren't U.S. Landraces is because they are burnt up by any authority figure, policeman, forest ranger, etc. that deems it illigael.

I firmly believe that a U.S. landrace would be a holy grail landrace due to perfect climate in some parts of the country.
The United States physically sits in the perfect climate for marijuana.....whether it be a Northern Indica, mid-Ocean Hybrid, or a Southern tropical sativa.

We have the perfect climate for ALL STRAINS.

Fuck the fed. If we wanted to do so, we could grow every strain on the planet for political and economical gain. Yet we don't do it. The money made would surpass EVERYTHING we export. Even the money made off our technological breakthroughs would pale in comparison to the money made off our naturally grown, multi-regional landraces.

Maybe I'm wrong.

[MCRandle]

Yes I saw my grammar mistakes and misspellings. I was in a hurry.

[RedDirtWarrior]

What is the definition of landrace again? All weed started on the continent of asia right, so strains that have been growing there for hundreds of thousands of years are undoubtedly landraces. But are Mexican strains really landraces? Or asian strains that have grown in mexico for hundreds of years?

How many hundreds of years does a plant have to grow on a continent to be considered a landrace?

Reason I asks is because, what was the first asian that arrived in the americas and when? Probably african landraces that arrived with the slave trade right. We all know many of those made it to jamaica / south america during those daysa few hundred of years ago, but did any of them make it to North american continent, if so, which ones?

[Donald Mallard]

Really ,, gee ,
might pay to look around a little mcrandle ,
america is not the center of the world ,
and just cause it gets done there ,
dont make it the best ..

theres a big world out there man ...

[oldchuck]

Terms used interchangeably but which actually have quite different definitions:

Feral = a previously cultivated variety gone wild. Example, midwestern American ditchweed are diverse hemp varieties, including Chinese, European, and various worked hybrids neglected and self propagating since WWII.

Landrace = traditionally cultivated variety, lightly selected by farmers growing in a relatively isolated environment. Remove the variety from its microclimate (that's the "land" in landrace) and it is no longer a landrace. Due to modern cultivation techniques and global diffusion isolated environments are becoming more and more rare. True landraces are good for retaining genetic diversity but you can't plop an Afgani landrace seed into Indiana ground and call it a landrace. It would take many isolated generations to produce a landrace and then it would be an Indiana landrace not Afgani.

Heirloom = A modern (last 200 years or so) variety that is open pollinated and lightly selected by growers that will pretty much produce consistent results where ever it grows. Example - Brandywine tomato

[oldchuck]

Originally Posted by RedDirtWarrior

How many hundreds of years does a plant have to grow on a continent to be considered a landrace?

There is no exact answer to your question. Largely it is matter of opinion. More important to my mind is how isolated the microclimate is. A "landrace" developed in Texas over a couple of hundred generations would be very different than a "landrace" developed in Oregon for the same period from the same parent seeds.

The problem these days is that there are no more isolated environments. Seeds come from everywhere.

[BOMBAYCAT]

There are railroad tracks in my old Midwest town. During WWII they moved a lot of hemp around by train and a lot of feral hemp used for the war effort is scattered about. We called it ditch weed and tried smoking it. All we got was a cough and sore throat. It was fun seeing plants that were 8 or more feet tall though.

[RedDirtWarrior]

Originally Posted by BOMBAYCAT

There are railroad tracks in my old Midwest town. During WWII they moved a lot of hemp around by train and a lot of feral hemp used for the war effort is scattered about. We called it ditch weed and tried smoking it. All we got was a cough and sore throat. It was fun seeing plants that were 8 or more feet tall though.

I wonder if there's a way to make extracts with ditchweed? Would take a heck of a lot of solvent (if you go that route) that's for sure.

[oldchuck]

Originally Posted by BOMBAYCAT

There are railroad tracks in my old Midwest town. During WWII they moved a lot of hemp around by train and a lot of feral hemp used for the war effort is scattered about. We called it ditch weed and tried smoking it. All we got was a cough and sore throat. It was fun seeing plants that were 8 or more feet tall though.

That weed is valuable, bombaycat. Not for THC, not for getting high. Not valuable in money. Valuable because of the genetic diversity and for it's very hardy adaptation to American climate. Cannabinoid content is probably all over the place but still possible to use the plant medicinally. Ship me some seeds, Man. I want to play with them.

[BOMBAYCAT]

When I went to college we swiped some absolute alcohol and a little lab distilling glassware from the chemistry lab and tried to cook it down into a type of hash. We didn't get a THC high, but I bet there was lots of CBD in there. There is a lot of feral hemp there, but that state is repressive. Some trivia for you: My home town used to gather and burn all the ditch weed every year. Anyway flocks of birds flew through the smoke and started to drop from the sky so there was something in that smoke. LOL