Landrace Cannabis Strains of India : DarknetMarketsIndia | Torhoo darknet markets
Hey Amigos,
I've been listening to a lot of cannabis breeding podcasts lately where all the bigtime breeders go on and just talk shop about their work and strains and origins of their gear. Super interesting stuff if you're a weed nerd!
One topic that constantly weaves in and out of all the episodes is about landrace strains. For anyone unfamiliar, landrace cannabis is just wild cannabis that naturally reproduces and seeds every year in particular geographic areas.
Part of what makes landrace cannabis so interesting for breeders as both a discussion topic and breeding tool is that landrace strains have been reproducing in nature over and over and over again, every single season since cannabis first emerged as a species.
So anywhere in the world where wild cannabis grows, these plants have been crossed to each other over and over and over again, so many times, that the seeds produced from these plants are extremely stable and virtually identical in almost every way.
Typically when you make a new strain, you would take 2 different strains, one male, one female, and the resulting progeny would express various combinations of traits from both parents. Some leaning more toward mom and some leaning more toward dad.
But with landrace, the plants become so inbred over so much time, that eventually you end up with something that turns out identical with every single seed you pop. Little to no variation whatsoever.
Anyway, these strains are very interesting when it comes to breeding because the more stable a strain is, the more predicable it will breed.
So India along with several other countries in the vicinity including Nepal, Thailand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and more, are literally hotbeds of landrace cannabis and are also
***WHERE ALMOST ALL OF THE ORIGINAL PARENT GENETICS ORIGINATED THAT SPAWNED THE ENTIRE BODY OF MODERN CANNABIS TODAY!!!!***
So I'm just trying to start a thread here for people to chime in about what landrace strains you're familiar with and what they are like and where they are found growing in the wild or even cultivated by farmers in India or anywhere else you're familiar.
I can't say that I've ever smoked a true landrace myself. Here in N.America, I've never ever once come across a wild cannabis plant. I've heard they grow in the woods up around Minnesota and Michigan and up into Canada. One person even told me they can't grow outdoor sensimilla in that part of the country because the wild landrace cannabis/hemp will pollinate anything you try to grow outside.
Anyway, I'm interested to hear what the native cannabis is like in India. Does anyone have any experiences or knowledge about these strains? What they are called, what they smell like, what they look like, etc. Would love to hear anything you have on the topic.
EDIT: I'm hoping this will turn into a very long thread with lots of stories/input so feel free to contribute anything you think is relevant!
You’re absolutely right- India is one of the richest reservoirs of landrace cannabis genetics in the world. These strains have been growing naturally and cultivated by local communities for centuries, sometimes even millennia, depending on the region.
Some of the most well-known Indian landraces include:
Malana Cream (from Himachal Pradesh): Probably the most famous. Grown in the Parvati Valley, this strain is a high-altitude sativa with a strong, spicy aroma and a deeply cerebral high. It's legendary among charas (hash) makers.
Kerala Gold (a.k.a. Idukki Gold): Originates from the Western Ghats of Kerala. It’s a tropical, fast-growing sativa that gives off sweet, fruity, and floral notes. Sadly, due to deforestation and crackdown by authorities, it’s become harder to find pure Idukki genetics today.
Mysore Mango: From Karnataka, known for its distinctive fruity aroma - hence the name. It’s also a sativa - leaning landrace.
Manipur and Assam Strains: The Northeast region is full of wild cannabis that grows both spontaneously and through small-scale cultivation. These plants are usually tall, fibrous, and resilient - ideal for hash production.
What’s interesting is that in India, cannabis has always been more than just a recreational thing - it's woven into spiritual, cultural, and medicinal traditions. From sadhus smoking chillums of hand-rubbed charas to farmers who’ve passed down seed lines for generations, the preservation of these genetics is part of a living heritage.
As for what they’re like - these landrace strains generally lean towards sativa traits: tall plants, narrow leaves, long flowering cycles. The effects tend to be clear-headed, euphoric, and long-lasting - quite different from the high-THC, couch-lock hybrids in the western market. Many have that incensey, spicy, woody aroma with earthy or herbal undertones.
You mentioned how wild cannabis up in parts of North America can affect outdoor grows- same issue in places like the Indian Himalayas. Farmers sometimes have to time their planting or move to more remote locations to avoid cross-pollination by feral males.
Honestly, you’d love the scene here if you’re into landraces. It’s like stepping back in time - some of these areas still cultivate in the exact same way they did hundreds of years ago.
Hope more folks jump into this thread and share their own stories and local knowledge. These old-school genetics are priceless, especially as more and more hybrids dominate the global market.
Cheers, and happy hunting for those pure strains!
The very first pack of seeds I ever bought had a really strong smell like the spicy incense stuff. I only grew one plant from that pack of seeds that year, but it was really phenomenal. The weed was not particularly impressive looking by today's standards, but the smell and high were something totally new to me. I'll have to dig out that seedpack and see what it was because I can't remember for the life of me. It was definitely something with roots near the Himalayas.
I also find the cultural aspect of landrace cannabis to be very interesting. The stuff had been illegal for several decades here in the US by the time the Emerald Triangle really started becoming a big producing region. The problem with prohibition is that there's no natural development of culture around the farming. Everything was very secretive and over time became very sketchy because of LE involvement and eradication efforts, not to mention the high price and huge amounts of cash that had to change hands to make the cannabis economy work. So here in the US, the culture developed in kind of a retarded way.... I've always thought that 'weed culture' in the US was pretty cringe and not really attractive to get involved with. Like it was less about the plant and cultivation and enhancing one's life and health, and more about something artificial and shallow.
Anyway, in places where cannabis is/was a craft and a more/less accepted part of the society, THAT's where real cannabis culture emerges. It isn't printed on a t-shirt, it isn't a brand, it isn't at a head shop with neon stickers on it and cartoon red eyes. It's not even really tangible and certainly can't be bought with money and worn as clothing. And it's definitely not made in fucking China lol. It really boils down to a specialized type of farming and farming has been a huge source of culture all over the world. I mean it's called 'agriculture'. You can't be a cannabis farmer without your work bleeding into and impacting all other parts of your life. That's for sure.
I think you're right, I probably would love the experience of visiting some of these places where the tradition is ongoing today. I hope to get the chance to travel and do just that at some point in my life.
Are there any Indica-type plants that are native to India or is it all pretty much the long-flowering sativas?
Thanks for your input, amigo!
You’re spot on - places like Malana, Parvati Valley, parts of Kashmir, and even tribal belts in Odisha or Manipur - cannabis there isn’t “stoner” culture, it’s agriculture. It’s medicine, religion, survival, and generational knowledge all rolled into one. No hype, no branding - just quiet excellence passed on in silence.
And yes - India does have indica-type plants, especially in the northern and northwestern Himalayan regions. They tend to be shorter, bushier, resin-heavy - traditionally hash plants. A lot of the classic charas comes from these. You’ll often see mixed expressions though - not pure indicas or sativas, but landraces that adapted over centuries to altitude, weather, and human selection.
Also, that spicy/incense terp profile you mentioned? Super rare now but very much alive in some pockets of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan. It’s that sacred temple/old-school hashish kind of vibe - hits you in the soul, not the face. If you find that old seed pack, definitely treasure it.
Hope you get to make that pilgrimage one day - trust me, it's not just a travel destination, it’s like stepping into a living time capsule where the plant still whispers in its original language.
Always happy to chat more on this stuff.