From the ancient family cultivars of Cannabis, the human being has always tried to preserve the best offspring generation after generation, adapting, hybridizing and selecting. Today the biotechnological techniques we have make these old techniques seem obsolete, but nothing is further from reality. Today more than ever we need to place more emphasis on preserving all that ancient knowledge and Local or Pure strains.

Our project, Tropical Seeds Company, began with the firm objective of preserving and maintaining the diversity of Cannabis Sativa L. in a world where local genetics are being lost. For this reason, from the first moment, local or pure strains were chosen to be the basis of the project, with sativas being the most numerous. The ultimate goal was to collect, understand, and reproduce them to keep these lines alive and make them available to cannaisseurs who enjoy the most unique and special effects.

The relationship between Human and Cannabis

The origin of the relationship between humans and cannabis is unknown, although its first use was probably very early in human history. It could focus at some point while ancient agriculture was developing in Central Asia. As agriculture took shape, humans began to select plants that provided better products. The first semi-domesticated strains were also naturalized and crossed with nearby populations on a regular basis. This led to the differentiation and variation that we find today in geographically isolated Cannabis populations.

Cannabis has been used throughout history, generating an interaction of coevolution and diffusion together with the human being. The valuable traits of cannabis were easily noticed and appreciated by humans; from its fibers for weaving for its great resistance, its seeds for food for its great nutritional contribution, and its flowers or resins for its therapeutic and psychotropic effects, even in rituals and religious acts. For all this, Cannabis could be one of the first plants to have been related to humans.

Cannabis domestication

The different strains we have now are the result of human intervention in cannabis especially in recent years. Domestication produces changes that are interpreted as indicators that it has occurred or is occurring. Human selection can produce many differences between a domesticated plant and its wild ancestor. The most apparent changes occur in the female parts of the plant that are used most intensively because farmers typically select these desired traits, such as potency or high-yield production. The role of humans in the selection of economically valuable traits during domestication has greatly altered the characteristics of local cannabis strains.

Domestication was accelerated due to the War on drugs since the 1970s and 1980s, many growers were forced to use smaller plants or adapt to smaller indoor spaces. And hybridization with strains that were better adapted to artificial lighting with a lower light spectrum than the Sun. All this further reduced genetic availability and led to the irreparable loss of many strains. That had it not been for a few enthusiasts, they would not have reached the present day.

Cannabis has definitely evolved in recent decades. Its potency is higher than ever: a study from 1979 to 2009 found that THC content has increased markedly, by 5-10%, while CBD and other cannabinoids, which many say have therapeutic value, have diminished. Most breeders have been selecting high THC, but in addition to the THC percentage, there are many cannabinoids and terpenoids that we have not studied beyond the effects of THC. Luckily this is changing, giving rise to very good jobs with CBD, CBG or THCV. Although it is worth mentioning that this is also thanks to the reinsertion of ancestral lines in the breeding work and the great selection work that is carried out today.

What is a local or pure strain?

A local or pure strain can be defined as a cannabis cultivar that has evolved in isolation from a specific geographic region. With the passage of time, isolation produced the adaptation of these strains, acquiring distinctive characteristics that make them more suitable for survival in that region. Many of these strains have been used by local populations in their family crops for many generations, which in many ways has always helped the local economy.

With the arrival of globalization and the wars of the last half of the last century, many of these local strains spread rapidly to the new nerve centers of cannabis, such as California and Amsterdam. First, it was the sailors who took these lines to other territories, since the usefulness of cannabis for vision during night fishing has been well known since ancient times. Later they were the soldiers who traveled to the war zones and where these plants had become a strong local and even global economy. And finally, great cannabis enthusiasts who have traveled the world searching for and collecting these strains and used these lines to incorporate them into their cannabis improvement projects.

The importance of Ancestral Strains

The ancestral strains are the base of all the current strains. They have accompanied many cultures and only for this reason they already have a very important high cultural value to preserve. But it is not the only thing they have to contribute to us currently. Today, the widespread use of individual plant selections in cultivation, inbreeding, and the adoption of asexual reproduction for commercial drug production reduced genetic diversity and made many current cultivars susceptible to pathogens and pests. .

The vast majority of drug cannabis cultivars are now fully domesticated and therefore fully dependent on humans for their survival. What has led to genetic decline today, and where ancestral strains are shown as the cornerstone of breeding the present and future.

Ancestral strains are an inexhaustible source of genes. They are well known for being much more resistant to both climatic adversities and infections and pests. They have better adaptive capacities due to the greater range of genes that they possess. Furthermore, they have not yet lost skills such as seed dispersal or seed camouflage, which is essential to ensure the survival of the species without human action.

Our motto: Recover, study, preserve and share

While these strains may not have been as high in THC as today’s famous strains, they had more pleasant mental or bodily effects. Some cannabis enthusiasts enjoyed the cannabis they obtained in the 1960s or 1970s, and they miss certain effects of the older strains. For that reason and more than ever, we need to recover, study, preserve and share the ancient genetics. Under this premise, Tropical Seeds Company was born and with which it continues to cling and with more strength than ever.

When preserving an ancestral strain for us it is not the most important thing to find the most domesticated specimens. On the contrary, we prefer to keep our local strains in open reproductions only by cleaning the specimens with less desired traits. Giving rise to maintaining a greater diversity of available genes within the same line. It is also very important for us to give them conditions similar to those they would have had in their places of origin. For this reason, our first facilities were in the Canary Islands, with one of the best tropical climates for growing cannabis. Currently our seeds are reproduced in indoor facilities, allowing maximum control of conditions and ensuring the result.

Pakistan Chitral Kush, Ciskei Highland, Nepal Highland, Double Congo, Zambian Copper, Durban Poison, Swazi Polokwane, Afghanistan NLD, Athina North Greek Landrace, Senegal, Vietnam Dalat, Nigerian, Zamal, Kilimanjaro, Turkish Landrace, Colombian Gold, among others are some of the best local strains that we have been studying during these years.

Purple Pakistan Chitral Kush PCK

Pakistan Chitral Kush is one of our master pillars of the tropical project. This perfect indica from Chitral in Pakistan, in addition to sporting beautiful purple tones, is rich in other cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG and THCV. Its robust structure and large leaves show great adaptability to all types of climates and great resistance to pests and pathogens.

Ciskei South African Highland

Ciskei Highland is one of our star strains. Also known as Bushman, we recovered it from the former Swiss bank Herbaria when it was forced to close due to a change in legislation. They were the first to import this wonderful strain that is used by local families from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. In addition, the South African area is well known for the large number of strains that it has brought to the world of Cannabis thanks to the variability of climates that it presents and the great tradition of use of its local population.

Nepal Highland

Nepal is one of the last True Highlands available today. Collected and received by Reeferman on one of his trips to Nepal Himalayo to one of the areas with the best traditional charas. It is a medium-sized sativa with a strong structure that produces a large amount of highly fragrant resin.

Double Congo

Congo Point Noire was the first line we got when starting the project discovered by Maxi HdB. Unfortunately a male who could continue the line never appeared and for that reason, it was decided to use a Congo Black male given by African Herbsman. Without a doubt, it is one of the most powerful lines of cerebral effect that we have had the pleasure of working on. And we want to play again.

Zambian Copper

Zambian Copper is another of the wonders that we were forced to rescue from the African Seeds bank that was forced to close its operations. It is a sativa widely cultivated on the Zambian plateau, very similar to the Malawi strain and which works best in colder climates.

Durban Poison

Durban Poison is a South African sativa strain and one of the rarest pure strains in the world. It is well known for being the strain used by the warriors of the Zulu tribes and appears in a large number of the best current hybrids. It has been kept unchanged since the 1970s by a small group of local South African growers until we received it a decade ago.

Swazi Polokwane

Swazi Polokwane is one of the local strains that we received from South Africa by the enthusiastic African Herbsman. Perhaps it has been one of the least studied by us because it still needs cleaning work. Still, it has always been in our plans to share with you.

Afghan NLD

Afghan Narrow Leaf Drug is one of those strains that we have always wanted to work with. We were fortunate to have the collaboration of a great enthusiast from the United Kingdom who gave us this mix of Afghan strains that claims to be the same line that Sacred Seeds worked in its origins and that later arrived in the Netherlands. Preserved in an open way and with all its potential intact, we still have a lot of work studying what it can offer us.

Athina North Greek Landrace

Athina North Greek Landrace is one of those super rare strains that has reached our days in a very limited way. Collected by Fat Rasta an enthusiast who traveled to the Serres mountains in northern Greece and where he managed to get a very reserved family to share with him this unique strain. It shows quite a lot of hermaphroditic problems, but even so, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share with you to increase the chances of survival and cleanliness of this ancestral line.

Senegal

Senegal is the result of work with several Senegalese local strains received. Finally we opted for this line of great vigor and a flowering of around 13 weeks. With a very pleasant high effect and fruity and spicy aromas, classic of Senegalese strains.

You already know that many of them can be found in our online store available in packs of 5, 10 or 100 regular seeds. And others that we are collecting and working to soon be able to offer you. Thank you very much for reading this far and if you have any questions we will be happy to help you, contact us at our email info@tropicalseedscompany.com or in our live chat.