# Haze

> Haze is a generic name for a family of long-flowering, narrow-leaflet hybrids built from tropical landrace material, known for sharp, spicy, incense-like aroma.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/haze.html
- Also written: hazes, haze strains, hazy, haze family
- Glossary category: Grower slang and culture · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Haze names a family of cannabis lines descended from crosses of tropical [landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md) material, built by growers in coastal California in the late 1960s and 1970s. It is now a generic lineage word for tall, slow-flowering, aromatic plants.

## In practice

Haze-type plants are tall and stretchy, with long flowering times, often 12-16 weeks or more from flip, and airy, resinous buds. The aroma is typically spicy, incense, citrus or sharp. Their length makes them demanding indoors: heavy [stretch](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stretch.md), a long run and late-season mould risk outdoors in temperate climates. Many modern "hazes" are [hybrids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hybrid.md) that keep some of the aroma and shorten flowering.

The exact landrace components of the original haze are told in several versions; treat specific claims as low-evidence.

## Don't confuse with

- **Sativa**: haze is the textbook "sativa" shape, but the label describes structure at most, not effect.
- **Hazy appearance**: unrelated.

## Related terms

[Kush](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/kush.md), [Skunk](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/skunk.md), [Landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md)

## Read more

- [How hybrid 'strains' emerged](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/how-hybrid-strains-emerged.md)
- [Landraces of the world: an overview](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/landraces-of-the-world.md)

## Sources

1. Clarke RC, Merlin MD. 2013. Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany. University of California Press.