What is a Panama Red?
Is it a unique DNA sequence in the plant tissue? Is it a particular arrangement of terpenes and other chemicals? Who keeps track of this?
When imitation strains (I forget the name) come out, who or what decides, “Yes, this is just like X”?
A panel of people? A lab report?
Strains deriving from seed are genotypes. That is, they were produced by a female plant and may exhibit many variations, depending on how stabilized it is. These variations can be exploited through different environments and techniques. Different variations are known as phenotypes. This is why many seeds of the same strain may yield different results, including different levels and selections of terpenes and other chemicals. The set of all possiblilities is encoded in the genotype, and the actual result exhibited as the phenotype. A genotype may have thousands of different phenotypes, with some being extremely rare of exhibited only under certain conditions. This is why some breeders do 1,000+ plant “pheno hunts”, or out-source the process to seed testers, each with their own environment and techniques.
There are some strains that are cutting only, in which they have the same genetic makeup of their cut off mother. Still though, when brought into a different environment with different techniques, they too can exhibit different results.
Who comes up with strain names? It depends. Sometimes the breeder, sometimes the marketer, sometimes the testers.
With imitation strains, it is no different. Nothing is stopping me from calling my latest line Skunk, though I would get roasted for doing so. Speaking of Skunk, the breeder of Skunk changed his line to be more on the fruity side, and is not really skunky anymore. So, the answer is, there is no good answer 
Can I get more context for the reason?
And can we use the word cultivar?
But basically, most people consider crossing 2 plants from different cultivars (not the exact same filial ancestors) a f1 (poly)hybrid aka a new cultivar.
You can try and make imitations or knockoffs with similar parents, but most people on the scene don’t really view this as legitimate. Consumers on the other hand don’t know the difference. It’s like showing them a quality knockoff vs the real thing. Most people are gonna think they’re the same.
Like you can buy fake Levi’s that look good, but they’re not the real Levi’s jeans.
Remember there is “genetics drift” when it comes to breeding - meaning “change in allete frequencies in a population from generation to generation that occurs to change event”
Sure, I prefer varietal or cultivar to “strain” anyway. The reason is simply having a standard. I think today, it’s easy for anyone to call a strain anything they want – which I guess is fine, esp if they were the breeder.
But over time, I guarantee you, this will matter.
Think of it this way. Scenario 1 in 20 years has hazy memories about classic weed strains, but literally nobody will know what they were/are. There will be several “versions,” some closer to what people remember, and some not.
In Scenario 2, we gather together about 100 MJ vets – like OGers – and have everyone do a series of tests with weed. Blind taste tests. I hand you a joint and ask you to classify it broadly, and/or several other tests.
How many of those OGers would agree? Would there be a consensus? If we “cut off the label” (e.g., did a tissue and chemical analysis afterward), what would we find?
I’m not a breeder and no pro, but I still come back to: what’s a Panama Red? Who decides?
I appreciate your explanation and get it, and that was sorta my thinking too – but I ended up exactly where you are. 
So. . .yes? A Panama Red is. . . ? lol
A seed is a genotype.
Clones of the seed grown in different environments/ methods results in different phenotypes.
However, the Rec industry is moving to reclassify a phenotype as an individual strain so they can patent it, using chromatography as a means of identification.
PR is a lowland Panama that exhibits red hairs and a more narcotic stone than the highland variety of Panama.
Or, if you ask MadMan, it’s what he found at a touristy Ayahuasca retreat in Peru, along with Skunk and original Colombian Gold
This sounds interesting, and it sounds like the answer is somewhere in here. Thank you. . .
Btw, [quote=“Wuachuma, post:9, topic:153631”]
PR is a lowland Panama that exhibits red hairs and a more narcotic stone than the highland variety of Panama.
[/quote]
I do think THIS is absolutely going to be part of the “description” of it for sure, along with. . .whatever # signature the industry decides upon.
Is it helpful to think of varietals of tomatoes? Or peppers? How do they ID and standardize on those? Can MJ work the same way?
Specifically, as already stated, Panama Red is a landrace from a specific region of Panama.
How do you know?
Uh huh.
Are you doing marketing research for a big Marijuana company or something?
Haha, no. I’m asking a question that occurred to me while high yesterday. Is that cool? 
I wouldn’t use landraces and strains as synonyms, although both share that they’re a defined genotype of cannabis (in our case).
As I understand it, strains are bred ( by selection inbreeding and/or crossing with other varieties) for distinct characteristics by which they also can be identified. It’s also important that they are stabilised after breeding to be a true strain, so that they can be reproduced by growing them from seed (as opposed to cuts of certain phenotypes, that can only be reproduced by cloning).
Landrace cultivars also share the same genetics and have distinct characteristics by which they can be identified, but their gene pool is bigger due to being reproduced via open pollination and not via selection. This results in a bigger variety of phenotypes that the plants can express.
A landrace cultivar also has to originate from a specific geographical region to be classified as a ‘true’ landrace, like in the case of the example from Panama.
If a Panama Red cultivar is grown in another country, e.g. a strain hunter goes on a journey to Panama and brings a few seeds home to the Netherlands and plants them there, the landrace becomes a heirloom variety because it was removed from it’s place of origin.
There are probably some flaws in my explanation but that’s how I understand the differences. 
An heirloom strain from what I know is just a strain that’s heavily inbreed and has been past down from generation to generation basically for something unique or it has quality traits.
It has nothing to do with landraces, other than u could make an heirloom with landraces by crossing a few types together and passing the genetics down ur family line.
You would just have to hope none of ur future family members don’t taint the line.
I appreciate the explanation and it makes sense to me, but I think the question stands.
I agree with this. I think the question is stupid simple but I’m honestly still at a loss.
Ok, then I excuse that I probably misunderstood the concept of heirloom cultivars. That’s for example the definition given by kwikseeds and RSC:
According to them it has to originate from selected and indbred landraces, but your explanation makes sense too!
Dude,
We document og kush and chem cuts from over 30 years ago
This is already existing
Provenance is how you determine
Also, you don’t do blind taste tests that’s crazy
You grow the plant
