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Leaf Picks

California

Durban Poison

from Sticky Fields

This phenomenal landrace strain cultivated by Sticky Fields originated in the Durban region of South Africa.

Jesse Robertson cultivates some phenomenal sungrown Cannabis. The third generation legacy farmer carries on his family tradition in Mendocino County, where he cultivates vegetables alongside some hard-hunted genetics like this Durban Poison, that he perfects and preserves from harvest to harvest at his farm, Sticky Fields

A California Leaf Certified Stoner Owner, Robertson once told us that he doesn’t cultivate anything that doesn’t pass the joint test. If it keeps a terpene-rich, distinct profile all the way through a joint, only then will he consider keeping it around. When selecting a Strain of the Month for this issue, we were torn about whether to go with his Mandarin Tart (which is destined for greatness – find some and fight me), but seeing as this is the Global Issue, we decided to highlight his distinct cut of the legendary Durban Poison. 

Lauded for its upbeat, energetic effects, Durban Poison is a stretchy, sticky sativa strain that originated in Durban, South Africa. The famed Durban Poison is beyond classic – it’s among the revered building blocks of modern Cannabis known as the landrace strains, which are famed genetics that evolved and adapted to survive and thrive in the specific climates of their native regions. 

The landrace strains propagated around the globe the way Cannabis always has, via trade, bag seed scores and insider hookups. Robertson came into possession of his own Durban in a similar fashion. The way he tells it, a mysterious, grizzled veteran grower approached him at an Emerald Cup many moons ago and handed him a pack of seeds labeled Durban Poison. The rest, as they say, is history. To this day, the strain stretches high to the sky on Robertson’s farm, with elongated colas and spindly indeterminate growth patterns – the hallmarks of a landrace sativa. 

Sticky’s Durban leans toward piney earth tones with subtle, delicious notes of lemon-lime. The perfectly cured, dense flowers break apart easily, leaving a satisfying tack on the fingertips. It rolls up and draws smooth, and true to Robertson’s word, it passes the joint test – keeping its flavor all the way to the end. 

This article was originally published in the June 2021 issue of California Leaf.

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