Genetics Guide
The vocabulary every serious cannabis collector and breeder uses. Canonical articles on genetics 101, breeding terms, seed types, lineage concepts, phenotype hunting, and preservation.
Punnett squares for breeders: predicting trait ratios
The 3:1 ratio every breeder should know on sight.
Mendelian inheritance in cannabis (the simple version)
Why your F1 cross looks uniform and your F2 batch is all over the place.
Common breeding myths (and what's actually true)
The misconceptions that follow new breeders around — debunked.
The cup-of-coffee test: a hunter's shortcut
An informal nose-and-time test for picking keepers fast.
How to read a lineage chart
Decoding the family tree on a pack of seeds.
Tissue culture for cannabis: a quick primer
Why pros are moving genetic preservation off the dirt and into the lab.
Keeper cuts and how breeders use them
Why one clone in the garage is worth a hundred seeds.
Feminized seed protocols: STS, CS, and rodelization
Three ways to make all-female seed — and how to tell them apart.
Ruderalis: the wild parent of every autoflower
How a scrubby Russian roadside plant changed modern breeding.
Indica vs sativa: a useful myth
What the labels actually tell you (and what they don't).
Pollen chucks: what the term actually means
Not always an insult.
Open pollination vs isolated breeding
Two ways to make seeds — and what each one means for your pack.
Selection pressure: how breeders steer a line
Why your favorite cut exists — and why the version your friend has is different.
Heirloom vs landrace: what's the difference?
Both are old. Only one is wild.
Chemotypes I, II, III: the cannabinoid groups
THC-dominant, balanced, and CBD-dominant — and why your line is one of them.
Phenotype hunting: a systematic method
How serious hunters work through a 50-pack to find the one.
Polyploidy: what triploid and tetraploid cannabis actually are
Bigger leaves, stickier flowers, sterile seeds — the genetics behind the hype.
Trichome anatomy & harvest timing
Trichomes are the resin glands. Their color (clear → milky → amber) tells you when to harvest.
Stabilization & generations
Stabilizing a line means inbreeding across multiple generations until the offspring consistently look like the parents. F5+ is the typical milestone.
Hermaphrodites & intersex traits
Hermaphroditism in cannabis can be genetic or stress-induced. Either way, it ruins a grow room. Recognizing it early matters.
Phenotype vs genotype
Genotype is the genetic code. Phenotype is how that code expresses under specific conditions. Same seeds, different plants.
How feminization actually works
Feminization is induced sex-reversal — a female plant is chemically forced to produce pollen, which then makes all-female offspring.
Terpene basics
Terpenes are the aromatic compounds that drive smell and flavor. The big six explain why cannabis tastes the way it does.
IBL vs polyhybrid
An IBL is a stable inbred line — predictable, uniform offspring. A polyhybrid is two unstable parents crossed — wildly variable offspring.
Autoflower vs photoperiod
Photoperiods flower based on light cycle. Autoflowers flower based on age. Two completely different growth strategies.
How CannaForge lineage records work
Every strain on CannaForge has a permanent lineage record — parents, descendants, breeder attribution, family, preservation status. It's the foundation of the genetics graph.
How breeder verification works on CannaForge
Every breeder on CannaForge is reviewed by hand. Verification is application-based, evidence-driven, and tied to ongoing lineage record-keeping.
What is preservation breeding?
Preservation breeding is the practice of keeping rare, heritage, or landrace genetics alive through tissue culture, seed production, and archival cultivation.
What is a landrace?
A landrace is a regional cultivar that evolved naturally in its geography of origin over centuries — the genetic substrate underneath every modern hybrid.
Regular vs Feminized seeds
Regular seeds produce ~50% males / 50% females. Feminized seeds produce ~100% females — but at a cost.
What does S1 mean?
S1 (selfed first generation) is when a single plant is bred with itself — the closest thing to a seed-form clone.
What does BX mean? (Backcross)
BX is a backcross — breeding a hybrid offspring back to one of its original parents to lock in that parent's traits.
What does F2 mean?
F2 is the second generation — selfing or crossing F1s. This is where recessive traits surface and pheno hunting begins.
What does F1 mean?
F1 is the first generation of a cross between two true-breeding parents — a hybrid full of vigor and uniformity.