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reserve your ad hereThe Caribbean is famous for its rich cultural heritage and ethnically diverse people. A quintessential tropical paradise where the coconut trees sway in the ocean breeze during the day while the exhilarating rhythms of Reggae, Calypso, Soca, and Dancehall keep everything moving to the beat after sunset.
These islands are world-renowned for their astounding natural beauty with turquoise waters, pristine beaches, lush rainforest, and mountainous terrain, but they’ve also produced some of the best equatorial varieties of ganja the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, the region’s true uplifting sativa (narrow-leaf drug type) euphoria has largely been lost since the introduction of temperate hybrid varieties in the ‘90s.
The Caribbean Queen, a.k.a Pure Sativa strain, was developed in collaboration with Humboldt Seed Company, California’s largest licensed cannabis seeds provider, and the Life Science Cannabis Research Group from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Our team set out to create a cultivar that would thrive in the humid and dry Tropics with a yield high enough to be commercially viable.
“To recapture the spirit of the Caribbean’s nostalgic ganja, we knew we would need a strong bouquet of exotic tropical fruits and spices, and an electrifying experience with uplifting effects that invigorate the mind and inspire creativity,” shared Benjamin Lind, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Humboldt Seed Company.
The Caribbean archipelago is located approximately 14 degrees north of the equator, offering a consistent 12-hour photoperiod with slight fluctuations between the summer and winter solstices. This diurnal period does not allow for prolonged vegetative periods in temperate hybrids without the use of artificial supplemental lighting to increase biomass.
The Pure Sativa’s 12-week (84 days) flowering time provides ample time for growth, making the cultivar ideal for commercial production under a 12/12 photoperiod. On average, mature Caribbean Queen plants stand over 6 feet tall with floral clusters nearly 2 feet long on the main colas. Each plant will produce 8-12 ounces of finished flower.
The modernizing of the Caribbean heirloom variety involved the collection of germplasm from the island of Trinidad and Tobago. Once upon a time, on a tropical adventure through the lush forest of the northern mountain range in Trinidad on a quest to find a hidden waterfall, some lucky hikers stumbled upon an abandoned grow.
The area was severely overgrown with grasses and other shrubs, but interestingly, a few cannabis plants were standing tall and soaking up the sun as it beamed over the hillside. On closer inspection of the floral clusters, it became clear that the ovaries were swollen with seeds. Although the maturation of the seeds varied, some mature seeds were retrievable from a few of the pistillate plants.
These seeds were subsequently germinated in Grass Valley, California, and phenohunted by Benjamin Lind, Co-founder & Chief Science Officer at Humboldt Seed Company. The selection process prioritized plants with slightly shorter flowering times, bud structure, and internode length, featuring a fruity and spicy terpene profile. Two distinct phenotypes were selected and pollinated with Stoopid Fruits and Humboldt Dream. These two strains were selected for their sativa-dominant characteristics, high THC profile, mold resistance, exceptional bud structure, and overall vigor.
After a couple years of selection and cross-pollination in California at the Humboldt Seed Company facility, the F1 seeds and other hybrid strains were shipped to Jamaica in the care of Ed Rosenthal. Once there, we began field trials under Jamaica’s 12/12 diurnal photoperiod. We found that seeds crossed with the Caribbean heirloom from Trinidad and Tobago displayed statistically significant differences when the growth rate-to-biomass ratios were compared to other hybrid strains that completed flowering within 45-55 days. This data provided greater insight into the potential for recurrent selection for developing the expression of desirable traits for the Tropical production of high-quality cannabis flower with modern-day appeal.
In 2021, the volcanic eruption on the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines devastated the agriculture sector, including the recently established medical cannabis program. The natural disaster led to many cannabis farmers being at risk of losing their livelihoods. The Life Science Cannabis Research Group, Humboldt Seed Company, and the Pure Jamaican Group of Companies donated 10,000 feminized cannabis seeds to the Medical Cannabis Authority of St Vincent and the Grenadines to assist with the rebuilding of the cannabis industry in the aftermath of the La Soufriere volcanic eruption.
The majority of the seeds donated were Bx2 from the Caribbean Queen, a.k.a. Pure Sativa strain. According to the traditional farmers of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, the cultivar is succeeding in these environments.
As one farmer mentioned, “When I grow the strain (Caribbean Queen) without light in the dirt, the old school way, I still get big plants with fat buds and no mold.”
The island of Antigua and Barbuda, one of the most recent Caribbean countries to establish a legal framework for vertically integrated cannabis, also includes special provisions for sacramental rights amongst the Rastafari community to grow for domestic purposes. Open field trials of 1,000 Bx5 Caribbean Queen a.k.a. Pure Sativa plants were established and cultivated by the Ethiopian African Black International Congress, also known as the Bobo Ashanti Church of Antigua and Barbuda. This visionary social entrepreneurship project not only explored the plant’s potential but also laid the groundwork for a sustainable business model within the Rastafari community by empowering local growers to produce, develop, and distribute marketable cannabis products. In January of 2024, Humboldt Seed Company and HomeGrow TV conducted a field visit to Antigua and Barbuda to phenohunt and document the progress and performance of the Caribbean Queen, a.k.a. Pure Sativa cultivar.
Equatorial strains
The introduction of temperate hybrids has largely displaced landraces and heirloom varieties in tropical regions worldwide. Equatorial strains can be classified according to their long flowering times of 15- 17 weeks, a characteristic narrow photosynthetic palmate compound leaf with a light green hue, and relatively large internode spaces. The flowers tend to be narrow in width and airy, occasionally with pronounced red pistils, giving rise to spicy, musty aromas. The strain provides a cerebral high often accompanied by creative, uplifting, and energizing feelings.
The majority of equatorial regions of the world are classified as developing nations. Historically, these were also considered major cannabis producing regions with illicit distribution in the developed world of Europe, the United States of America, and Canada. As a result, developing nations in areas like the Caribbean were faced with cannabis eradication efforts sponsored by the industrialized world.
The late 80s and early 90s saw the introduction of temperate varieties of cannabis known as Indica entering the tropical regions. These were favored by farmers for their smaller size and shorter life cycle from seed to harvest, making them less conspicuous. This new option allowed the local farmers to be more successful in growing their crop in the face of drug enforcement agencies, who could easily spot 7-10 foot plants that would take 5-9 months to mature.
As governments globally continue to tailor laws and strategic policies for the implementation of legal cannabis industries, the demand for cannabis with certain types of aesthetics and organoleptic qualities will only continue to grow in demand.
Many developing countries in the Tropics have taken the opportunity to relax legislation pertaining to cannabis prohibition for economic stimulation by attracting foreign direct investment with the intention of exporting.
The carbon footprint, energy cost, and infrastructure required to cultivate temperate hybrids in the Tropics have proven costly and challenging. While many breeders are currently focused on breeding for indoor and temperate hybrids, there is also a great demand for genetics that are well-suited and bred for equatorial production.
The breeding and selection process for the Caribbean Queen, also known as Pure Sativa, has provided equatorial cannabis growers with the opportunity to produce high-quality finished flower that meets the demands of the modern-day cannabis market, offering exceptional yields and lower input costs.
Feature photo: Fields of Caribbean Queen. Photo credit: Dakota@HomeGrowTV.
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