linkrot.offline - A Botanical Gallery

In 2024, I grew my first intentional crop from seed, Cannabis. In reality, I just wanted to dodge the hefty taxes. I did not realize that I would be growing a gateway drug to the wonderful world of plants. I now dedicate a fair share of my free time to the research, cultivation, and genetic preservation of rare plants I hold dear. I am most biased towards west coast natives, cannabis, and other domestic crops. Nothing is available for sale or distribution. I grow according to the laws in my state.

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It's just me and three Psilocybe Californica occurrence records from Stanford and Berkley against the world

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Oaxacan Cannabis Sativa "String of Pearls"

A final sequence of flatbed scans (and a macro image) that I edited and compiled.

I'm proud to announce the completion of my first genetic preservation project.

Growing this plant from seed to mature flower took around 9 months and 15 days. This is only my second season growing cannabis, and I knew I wanted to tackle something that even seasoned growers avoid. Gardening in a frost-free climate gave me a massive advantage when taking on this beast of a plant. The seeds were source from a forum giveaway and are of an endangered Mexican sativa. A pure "NLD (narrow-leaf-drugtype)" variety. The plants stretched to over 9ft tall and flowered from late September to mid January. All plants had a stretchy, Christmas tree type structure.

I wanted to grow this cultivar for a variety of reasons, the first being that it had been selected for an uber niche "String of Pearls" bud structure. This structure has excellent resistance to bud rot and insect damage but is selected against due to massively lower yields and a strange appearance. The cannabis cultivar community often worships dense, rock-hard "golf ball nugs" attributed to hybridization with wide-leafed varieties otherwise known as Indica. This popularized idea of "bag appeal" and profit maximization motivates breeders to cull and dispose of looser bud structures such as pearls. As a result, "pearly buds" are a very rare and elusive trait that must be hunted for. As of posting this, there is no commercial seed line available deliberately selected or advertised for this trait.

The second reason I wanted to grow an Oaxacan Landrace was because of the potential presence of THCV (Tetrahydrocannabivarin), a niche Cannabinoid linked to increased energy and motivation, suppressed appetite, and can potentially reduce blood sugar. I wanted to provide ill friends and family a form of relief that would not come at a cost of over-eating and lethargy.

Upon sampling the product, the effect is energizing, introspective, "heady", appetite suppressing, euphoric, and focused.

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scans of the very rare and elusive "string of pearls" bud trait found in some lines of landrace cannabis.

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Super Silver Haze

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Flat Bed scan of a pure Oaxacan (String of Pearl selection) pheno with tight internode spacing

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Cannabis rare "Bleeder" trait, featuring red sap due to increased anthocyanin levels.

In photo: Dragons Blood Hashplant from Bodhi Seeds.

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"String of Pearls" rare cannabis bud morphology

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Rare cannabis "String of Pearls" bud morphology

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I will create a proper chart for this one, but first I want to talk about it.

This is an extremely rare pure sativa from the Oaxaca state of Mexico. I was only able to acquire these seeds through online connections, they are not easy to find. This unusual and rare bud morphology is named "String of Pearls (SoP)" In the cannabis scene. Likely because it resembles the namesake succulent 'String of Pearls'. This trait is most often found in equatorial sativas, and even more rarely elsewhere.

The second I learned about this unusual trait, I was determined to hunt it down. There is just something so beautiful about it. This may be one branch, but together on a plant it creates this amazing effect I call "The Weeping Willow". Is it practical? No, the puny yield and extravagantly long flowering times of these plants is something that most cannabis cultivators aggressively select against or even scoff at. For that reason you can not buy pure sativa at any dispensary, especially nothing like this.

If an un-knowledgeable grower finds this trait, they typically disregard the plant as a useless, deformed mutant. The reality is this rare trait was likely developed to maximize airflow between calyxes, stopping bud rot and other pathogens right in its tracks. This is especially important in the humid south.

I have this individual propagated, affectionately named 1F, and am currently hunting for more within the same batch of seeds. I am attempting a seed reproduction of this "SoP Oaxacan" variety, and will be eagerly utilizing the trait in unconventional breeding projects. It is plants like this that bust the doors for ornamental breeding or artisanal production of cannabis wide open.

if you want to talk to me about this incredibly niche subject, please feel welcome.

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Hybrid seedling observations

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