There is no registry, no copyright and no authority. Six breeders on how a plant gets its name, who has the right to give it one, and why the market is drowning in names that mean nothing.
Among a seed bank’s spreadsheets, life finds its way through a succession of cold codes: F2, BX1, phenotype #4… Numbers that correspond to Mendel’s laws, humidity percentages, and weeks of flowering. But outside, on the street, at the club counter, or in the intimacy of the indoor grow, the plant needs a soul. And that soul, in the modern market, begins to be built from its very inception, starting with a name.
That’s why naming a cannabis strain is an act that oscillates between the brilliance of the alchemist and guerrilla marketing. There’s no civil registry office for plants that smell like diesel or tropical fruits, but there are unwritten rules that separate an ordinary cross from a legendary strain.
Who Gets to Name It
So, who names the strains? Short answer: the breeders. And more often than not, those names are derived from the parent strains and the crosses that came before them, which provide clues about tastes, aromas, potency, or growth. James Loud, of James Loud Genetics, maintains that “the breeder who creates the cross should name the variety, because they defined the genetic intent and direction.” On the other hand, he acknowledges that if a grower selects a unique phenotype, they have the right to name it as long as they credit the original breeder, because “breeding establishes the framework, but selection is where expression becomes reality.”
James Loud – Courtesy Photo
In truth, since there is no global regulatory framework, there is no international system available for registering names, nor are there strict guidelines in this regard. …
Read More
Author: Hernán Panessi / High Times
