Afghani, Afghani Kush and Hindu Kush -- Differences?

Breeder's Lab
#1

Not being able to visit Afghanistan myself and check things out, I’m curious about the differences between what breeders typically call these strains.

As far as I can tell, Afghani Kush is as generic a term as Hindu Kush… i.e. anything from the Hindu Kush mountain range. Is there anything different about these strain names, or are they more or less interchangeable generic terms for landraces or heirlooms originating from this area?

“Afghani” seems even more generic. What do you expect from a strain that calls itself “Afghani”? Hindu Kush, Mazar, lowland varieties from places like Kandahar, Helmand or even far South near the Iranian border?

We use these strain names all the time, but are they all generic and interchangeable? Or do they form any specific connotations? Would you have different expectations from a strain called “Afghani” vs “Afghani Kush”?

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#2

I’ve noticed the same generic names getting thrown around too. I know Hindu Kush strains are supposed to be non-sedative, but not always.

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#3

I think there’s a younger Afghan-American growing out his family’s Afghan seeds in Santa Cruz, CA or somewhere in Calif… That’d be a good place to look to, imo.

Can’t recall the farm’s name or which podcast/youtuber had him speak a bit.

Kush is a mtn. range, and i’ve heard it means “killer”… hmmm time for our friend wikipedia…

[from above, 3rd article link]

The Persian-English dictionary[31] indicates that the word ‘koš’ [kʰoʃ] is derived from the verb (‘koštan’ کشتن‬ Persian pronunciation: [kʰoʃˈt̪ʰæn]), meaning “to kill”. According to Francis Joseph Steingass, the word and suffix “-kush” means “a male; (imp. of kushtan in comp.) a killer, who kills, slays, murders, oppresses as azhdaha-kush”.[32] A Practical Dictionary of the Persian Language gives the meaning of the word kush as “hotbed”.[33] According to one interpretation, the name Hindu Kush means “kills the Hindu” or “Hindu killer” and is a reminder of the days when slaves from the Indian subcontinent died in the harsh weather typical of the Afghani mountains while being taken to Central Asia.[26][34][35] The World Book Encyclopedia states that the word kush means death, and was probably given to the mountains because of their dangerous passes.[36]

So now there’s that to confuse us. AND I believe there’s an altogether unrelated strain “Cush” … :rolling_eyes:

All I know for sure is it’s almost lunchtime.

:smile:

:evergreen_tree:

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#4

If you do find out that guy in Santa Cruz’s name, I’d love to read about his project. Sounds cool!

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#5

i think usually these strains are just named for the region they came from … so 2 people could have visited the hindu kush mountains and each gotten a different variety from different people and called them both hindu kush …

thats disappointing, i grabbed bodhis ‘old school hindu kush’ because i figured it was a narcotic indica …

theres someone on IG who lives in afghanistan and runs cannabis and charas tours etc … @afghan_kush_black_honey … you could DM or email him and ask for more info

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#6

I agree and I think there’s a lot of overlap in the labels… which is confusing. If I had to take a crack at it, I would consider these the rules.

  • An Afghani Kush could also be called an Afghani, but not all Afghani’s are Afghani Kush.
  • All Afghani Kushes could also be called Hindu Kushes, but not all Hindu Kushes can be called Afghani Kushes
  • An Afghani could be a Hindu Kush, but some Afghanis are not Hindu Kushes.
  • A Hindu Kush could be an Afghani, but some Hindu Kushes are not Afghanis.

That’s messed up. :expressionless:

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#7

we should just organize 1 of those :arrow_up: afghani cannabis tours and collect our own seeds :thumbsup:

when i contacted the guy he said guest house rooms are $10, $50, or $300 per night in balkh province, near mazar-i-shariff

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#8

As i understand it , Afghani s a kinda of plants called “Afghanica” - similar as indica and ,Kush is the mountain range between Pakistan :pakistan: and Afghanistan ( and India,)
Kush and crosses of it are quite noticeable ( leaves anyway)) and indica have fatter fingers on leaves etc …
Plus it’s ( Hindu Kush Mntn Range) a massive area being cultivated for many many years by the locals of each country/area/region so the bud will obviously vary from different zones etc…

Hope this helps someone…
Gaz

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#9

We need an :older_man: ‘old timer’ who was actively cultivating or “participating” :wink: in the 1970s to answer this.

Like Neville. :grin:

(aside: i’m looking for some books, “The Bandit of Kabul”…)

Thinking out loud…

At some point in the late '70s, (I was born) and weed from that region had migrated because of “Westerners”. Hippies. :peace:

(Pre-dating all of that, Indian Gunj varieties had made it to our Jamaican Ganja, so of course, those regions essentially border eachother.)

So the word “Kush” makes it to California. Southern, probably.

At this point there’s already confusion because prohibition is in full-swing everywhere but Holland, mostly, and “strains” wasn’t even a word being used. :blush:

:surfer: Somebody grew some of this “Kush” within an hour’s drive of the Pacfic ocean, where it got a new climate to evolve/adapt to.

I hate the OG suffix on plants because of the confusion that still persists & propagates into common ignorance & mythology in the mob. :busts_in_silhouette:

…

and people name stuff whatever they think or feel, (i.e. pink/purple-panty-dropper :rolling_eyes: ).

So if you know Neville, please ask him.

Whatever Skunkman says is suspect, imo.

:v:

:evergreen_tree:

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#10

what do you have against Skunkman ? He contributed to that phylos galaxy thing, and let’s not forget the strains he bred.
I’m not bashing you or anything, just curious what do you find suspect about him

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#11

:smile:

i have nothing personal against him-- i can’t! i’ve never met’em! :smile:

…but internet research, book-learnin’ :wink: etc. & to me all suggest more questions than answers about the past. genuine controversy but the actual parties involved aren’t speaking publicly. not trying to be vague but acknowledging it’s all hearsay until put to rest.

but then there’s Sativex. and Holland.

:spy:

If i had to bet/wager, I think the odds are heavily against him. :slot_machine: :black_joker:

Just addin’ my hearsay to the gossip machine. :speaking_head: :gear: :telephone_receiver:

:wave:

:evergreen_tree:

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#12

I disagree @cannabissequoia , Haze is Skunkman’s and he gifted it to Neville. Skunkman never said Neville could reproduce and sell his strain, but Neville did anyway. Neville stole from Skunkman. I believe Skunkman played a key role in preserving lineages we still enjoy today.

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#13

For discussion purposes, OK.

How/where/what/who do “we” know this by/from? Is it credible? Verifiable?

I’m all for demonstrable phenomena! :smile: :microscope:

Very curious & skeptical…not tryin’ to be an asshole(that doesn’t require :lifter: much! ha!)

:evergreen_tree:

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#14

If someone took Bodhi’s work and started selling it, I am pretty sure that person’s credibility would be zero automatically. If there were to be any dispute, everyone would know Bodhi is the one portraying the truth… it’s his work.

Haze is Skunkman’s work and everyone knows this. Regardless of whether or not Neville had permission doesn’t matter. If you are a moral person, you aren’t going to profit off of another man’s work regardless of having permission or not. It’s just not right.

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#15

???

“knows”?

Unless “everyone” was runnin’ in NorCal in the 70s, I have to call “bogus”. None of us knows anything about then…

:evergreen_tree: haze brothers?

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#16

both_are_afghanis.jpg2048×1620 513 KB

Both of these are afghanis. :slight_smile:

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#17

Those plants look really nice @lefthandseeds , please keep us updated.

I could be wrong, but I think that expressions vary wildly within mountainous regions due to elevation variability when seeds are transported. I believe anything from a mountainous area will have both Sativa and Indica leaning expressions. If anyone knows in more detail, please let us know.

Does anyone have experience with the Sweet Leaf Afghani expression?

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#18

The cabbagey ones on the right remind me of Poison Oak for some reason…

ugh.

:evergreen_tree: that’s not a strain name, kids. go hiking

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#19

Haha. The fat leaf ones are deep chunk. The narrow leaf are clones a friend of mine gifted me. These were brought back as seeds by a soldier from a village in the South called Daku. Looking at a map, it seems to be on the border of Iran. He’s kept one as a mother for over 5 years. I’m reversing the Daku to create S1s and hybrids with the deep chunk.

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#20

I wonder what the difference is between the $10 and $300 rooms?

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