African Indica Strain

African Indica Strain Review Photoperiod

While most African landrace strains are sativa, a few rare African indicas can be found in the continent’s higher-altitude and northern regions. These cooler climates — more like the Middle East and Central Asia where indicas originated — helped shape short, bushy plants with dense buds and resin-rich flowers.

One of the best-known examples is Atlas Mountain Kush from Morocco’s Rif Mountains — a true indica landrace famous for its compact structure, early flowering time, and earthy aroma. It’s long been used in traditional kif and hashish production.

Another is Kandahar African, found along the Morocco–Algeria border. It’s an indica-leaning hybrid thought to have Afghan influence, known for its fast flowering cycle and heavy resin output.

Farther south, the Lesotho Highlands produce plants that are technically sativa, but certain mountain-grown phenotypes take on more indica-like traits — shorter, denser, and better suited to cold mountain air.

In Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, a compact, sedative landrace also shows clear indica influence. With its earthy, spicy aroma, it’s believed to have developed from Middle Eastern indica genetics that migrated into North Africa centuries ago.

Overall, African indicas evolved in these cooler, drier, and higher-altitude environments, where short flowering periods and dense, hardy plants offered a natural survival advantage — blending the geography of Africa with the genetics of classic indica lineage.