# Polyhybrid

> A polyhybrid is a cultivar whose recent ancestry mixes many different lines, so its seed segregates widely and rarely breeds true.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/polyhybrid.html
- Also written: polyhybrids, poly-hybrid, multi-hybrid, complex hybrid
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Supported
- 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"

A polyhybrid is a cultivar built from many different parent lines in recent generations: a hybrid crossed with another hybrid crossed with a third. Its genome is a patchwork, [heterozygous](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/heterozygous.md) at many loci, and its seed [segregates](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/segregation.md) widely.

## In practice

Most current market cultivars are polyhybrids. That explains common grower experiences: a pack of seed from a famous cross produces plants that look and smell very different from each other; seed saved from a great polyhybrid clone throws a scatter of types; and "the same name" from two sources behaves differently.

Polyhybrids are not bad. They can be vigorous, productive and full of variation to select from. But they are poor material for anyone who wants a predictable seed line, and they are part of why commercial cannabis is converging on similar profiles. Breeding polyhybrids from polyhybrids, with little [stabilisation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stabilisation.md), multiplies the problem.

## Don't confuse with

- **Polyploid**: extra [chromosome](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chromosome.md) sets; unrelated, despite the similar word.
- **F1 hybrid**: a single cross, possibly uniform if the parents were inbred.
- **Landrace**: a population with a long local history and coherent type.
- **IBL**: stabilised by [inbreeding](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/inbred-line.md) and selection, the opposite end of the scale.

## Related terms

[Hybrid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hybrid.md), [Landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md), [IBL](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ibl.md), [Segregation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/segregation.md), [F2](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/f2.md)

## Read more

- [Polyhybrids vs landraces: what each gives a breeder](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/polyhybrids-vs-landraces.md)

## Sources

1. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. 2022. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLOS ONE 17(5):e0267498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267498
2. Henry P, Khatodia S, Kapoor K, et al. 2020. A single nucleotide polymorphism assay sheds light on the extent and distribution of genetic diversity, population structure and functional basis of key traits in cultivated north American cannabis. Journal of Cannabis Research 2:26.