@TricycleOfDoom Love of Landrace has Landrace or heirloom 80’s Durban. Most likely it doesn’t exist anymore in Africa, from what I’ve seen. This landrace/heirloom was hybridized first in South Africa, and the hybrid version made its way into Mel Frank’s hands, then to Europe from there, where it was further hybridized by adding Skunk genes, and this would be the version every serious American pot smoker knows and loves. I think that could have been what happened but it’s only an educated guess, after growing 4 different Durbans. The 73 is a hybrid imo, but you’d never know it by the 16-18 week flowering time alone. The 80’s Durban is that same (73 type) Durban that never saw that original indica introduction…ie pure Sativa…same flowering time as the 73.
Basically, some Indica was brought to South Africa, (my and LoveofLandrace’ best guess is during the Boer War, or during the Zulu Wars, when Indian Coolies carrying some seeded smoke were captured by the local Zulu)and mixed with the local Sativa near Durban. This hybrid slowly regained its Sativa 18 week flowering time back over the years, but, like the 71 Panama Red, the Indica genes were now permanently in the strain and only awaiting breeding efforts to begin selections for faster plants.
I think some hybrids happened long before the accepted late 70’s timeline. Afghanistan was all hybrids by the 70’s, for instance. I’m sure Indica mixed with Sativa in Mexico by the mid 1800’s, Parke Davis spread Indica around Colombia in the late 1800’s til the 20’s, Cambodia likely saw the introduction of Yunnan Indica in the 1800’s…Uganda, Tanzania and probably Kenya saw Indica during the Arab Ivory trade…
So i guess it depends what you seek. Fluer de Mal has that Anise Durban, the 73 is pre -American/ European post Indica( Boer or Zulu Wars) African Durban, and the 80’s Durban is the original landrace strain that made the others possible,in my opinion.