Understanding genetics & lineage

A relationship needs a source

Lineage records connect parent and child cultivar names. Historical claims may conflict, so a useful catalog preserves attribution and leaves unverified parents unknown.

What the graph can show

Follow parent and descendant links to explore relationships. Switch between tree and list views. A parent is part of a reported cross; an ancestry component may be several generations back; a phenotype selection comes from a named line. Each relationship includes its source.

What it cannot establish

A catalog family tree is not genetic certification. Shared ancestry alone does not establish identical chemistry or a predictable experience.

A name is not a genetic certificate

Watts and colleagues found that indica and sativa labels poorly represented overall genetic and chemical variation in their sample set. Samples sharing a cultivar name could also differ substantially. The result does not mean that all named lines are identical or that genetics is irrelevant; it limits what can be inferred from a commercial label alone.

Read disputed accounts without combining them

Granddaddy Purple illustrates why an Atlas family tree can retain competing accounts. Combining every named ancestor into one certain cross would create a claim that the source did not establish. Similarly, Northern Lights #5 and F1 Durban should retain their specific names rather than being silently replaced with broader or similar-sounding records. A second website repeating an account is not automatically an independent source.

Research & scope

• Watts et al. (2021) — Cannabis labelling is associated with genetic variation in terpene synthase genes ↗

  Genetic and chemical variation in labelled samples. This study does not independently verify the historical parentage displayed in the Atlas.