The Most Iconic African Weed Strains

Cannabis came to Africa from Asia when Indian Hindu travelers introduced it to the Bantu people of West Africa, sharing part of their culture and religion. With the help of the Bantu Expansion, it spread to parts of Central, East, and South Africa.

The Bantu Expansion or Bantu Migration was a population movement caused by famine and overpopulation, driving the Bantu People to search for new lands and resources. In the process, they brought new technologies, such as iron tools, pottery making, and farming techniques, to the different regions of Africa. Along with tools and techniques, the Bantu people introduced other parts of Africa to cannabis cultivation and use.

Does this history support the existence of African landrace strains? The fact that cannabis was introduced to Africa sheds doubt on pure sativa strains like Durban Poison’s identity as a landrace. At face value, these strains look like heirloom varieties.

However, considering that cannabis was introduced to the African continent centuries ago, these cannabis strains are still considered landraces. African strains have a long documented history. Experts carbon dated the earliest known cannabis pipes in Africa to around 1320 AD. Given that time frame, the cannabis that the Indian Hindu travelers introduced would’ve become naturalized to the region.

Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven Summits of the World. Located in Tanzania, it is the fourth-highest mountain in the world and gave its name to a native landrace that grows along the mountainside.

This sativa landrace doesn’t just flourish on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Growing Kilimanjaro gives cities like Tanga and Arusha an economic boost, where it is sold and used recreationally. Tanzania even has a unique word for cannabis, ‘Bangi.’

East Africans also call the Kilimanjaro strain ‘The Elephant Flattener’ because of how stoned the local elephants get after eating wild cannabis. For humans, a toke from Kilimanjaro will uplift and energize you, which is why it’s such a popular sativa.

Durban Poison

A coffee shop named Transvaal introduced Durban Poison, a famous South African sativa landrace, to Holland. Since Transvaal is the name of a province in South Africa, the coffee shop’s name led many to believe that Edward Rosenthal (the man who popularized the heirloom) discovered the landrace strain on a trip to South Africa.

Durban Poison Feminized Seeds

Durban Poison is a pure sativa named after its city of origin: Durban, South Africa. Despite its name, it is a delightful strain that gives the user energy, joy, and creativity.

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While Ed never went on a trip to South Africa, he saw Durban Poison's potential as a cultivar, with its fast-flowering and fast-growing traits. Ed gave some of the heirloom seeds to his botanist friend, Mel Frank (James J. Goodwin), who passed some along to Sam “The Skunkman” (David Watson). He hoped to stabilize the genetics and remove undesirable traits, such as low yields and intersex plants.

Durban Poison became commercially viable once it appeared for sale in the Holland Seed Bank in the mid-1980s. Right now it is so popular that it was crossed with Ruderalis to create an Autoflowering variant of this amazing strain.

Durban Poison cultivar profile

Malawi Gold

Malawi Gold, as the name suggests, originates in Malawi. It is famous worldwide as one of the finest sativa heirlooms. Renowned for being one of the most potent African sativa landraces, Malawi Gold gained a massive following and increased tourism to its home country. It also became one of the primary sources of economic activity in Malawi, alongside Tilapia and tea.

With the rise in tourism and demand for their prized landrace, Malawi became one of the largest producers of chamba (their word for cannabis) in Southern Africa. Africa handles cannabis similarly to the United States. Each country has different laws and regulations surrounding cannabis. Malawi legalized the cultivation and processing of cannabis for industrial and medicinal use in 2020.

The Malawian Rastafari (a religious and social movement) use cannabis as part of their religious practices. Malawi didn’t decriminalize recreational cannabis use, but that didn’t stop backpackers from going to Malawi to experience its prized plants—mirroring the Hippie Trail.

Power Plant

Power Plant is a sativa-dominant strain from Dutch Passion created by selectively breeding a South African landrace strain. The resulting sativa cultivar is fast-flowering and high-yielding without additional crossbreeding, allowing it to maintain genetic purity.

Power Plant Feminized Seeds

Power Plant has medium to high CBD content, but it is most often enjoyed by recreational users. This is because it gives the user a feeling of happiness and joy, causing the user to become more social and talkative.

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Besides quick flowering times and high yields, Power Plant has a natural resistance to mold and changes in temperature. These hardy sativa-hybrid plants generally finish flowering and are ready for harvest by early October. You can expect a yield of around 21 to 26 ounces per plant outdoors or 17 to 21 ounces per square meter indoors.

Power Plant cultivar profile

Swazi Gold

Swazi Gold is a sativa landrace that gets its name from Swaziland, the former official name of Eswatini. This Southern African country produces a significant amount of cannabis.

Despite being a major player in African cannabis production, it’s still illegal to cultivate cannabis in Eswatini. The laws surrounding it are stringent, with severe fines and jail time imposed for growers caught by law enforcement. There has been a recent push for the legalization of cannabis. Advocates are pushing officials to revise an old colonial law prohibiting cannabis.

Growers in Eswatini risk lengthy prison time because they can profit handsomely from cultivating Swazi Gold. Like Malawi’s prized landrace, Swazi Gold is famous internationally. It’s known for a long-lasting, potent high that energizes and uplifts you. Its smoke has a sweet citrus flavor that compliments its stimulating effects.

Red Congolese

Red Congolese is a contentious final addition to this list because of its debatable lineage. While some say it's a pure African cultivar derived from a Congo landrace, others say it’s a sativa that combines Mexican, Afghani, and Congo genetics.

Regardless of the true story, Red Congolese deserves a spot on this list because of its Congo genetics. It’s one of the rarest strains in the world, yet its effects can compete with those of Malawi Gold and Swazi Gold. Its potent effects make the cannabis strain highly sought after by growers and enthusiasts.

Sources used for this article

• AfricaNews. (2023). Ghana legalizes cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use. Africanews. https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/22/ghana-legalizes-cannabis-cultivation-for-medical-and-industrial-use/
• Mash, J. (2021). History of the Bong - James Mash - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@jmash9/history-of-the-bong-c9b0476fc15a
• Musi, N. (2024). Eswatini Moves to Revise Century-Old Colonial Law to Legalize Medical Cannabis. Voice Of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/eswatini-moves-to-revise-century-old-colonial-law-to-legalize-medical-cannabis/7532375.html