La Calabrese Rossa

[Amnesialocal]

Hello every one,

This is a story which I would like to share with you.

It is a research ongoing from few years now. The story has several events that can be documented and others that are only legend. There is lot to search….these are just notes, please keep them as such.

 

Probably for all of you the strain Calabrese Rossa in unknown, but during the late ‘60-‘70-‘80 this variety has been an unique type very well know to be incredible strong, to the point that people thought was hallucinogen ( and from there some use to call it Devil’s Herb which is a synonym for stramonium).

Wrongly for decade we thought this was a specific strain, but with time it results that the strain is more a process than a result and although having some origin link, several ( three at least ) varieties and genotypes have adapted to a specific territory and become a well known legend.

 

La Calabrese Rossa

( linked with Calcutta strain, called Erba del Diavolo, linked with Avellinese Nana, Napoletana Nana, Terronica)

 

Chapter 3:

Seed Sovereignty and genetic preservation

 

Seed sovereignty is the fundamental right of herbalist and communities to save, exchange, and develop seeds, ensuring control over their auto-production systems. In today's rapidly changing cannabis landscape, preserving the genetic diversity of specific strains is paramount. Genetic preservation not only safeguards biodiversity but also maintains resilience in the face of environmental challenges and ensures access to unique traits essential for adaptation and innovation. By championing seed sovereignty and genetic preservation, we honor our herbalist heritage, empower our local community, and secure a sustainable future for strains to come.

 

Genetic preservation is vital for maintaining the diversity of plant species and ensuring the resilience of a genetic pool. Each seed variety carries unique genetic traits honed over generations, offering resilience to pests, diseases, and environmental stressors. Preserving these genetic resources is akin to safeguarding a library of potential solutions for future challenges. Furthermore, genetic diversity provides the raw material for breeding programs to develop new crop varieties better suited to evolving conditions. Without genetic preservation, we risk losing invaluable traits essential for adapting to changing. It's a critical investment in the resilience and sustainability of our systems.

 

Chapter 0: Always a beginning is only the middle of another story that need a proper time.

 

Chapter 1:

The Calcutta strain

 

This story start on the 1931, when the Orto Botanico of Naples introduced cannabis seed of Indica from India into the experimental station in the botanical garden.

 

The Neapolitan contribution to the scientific studies on Cannabis. A historical overview By Giorgio Samorini

 

[…] The creation of the Experimental Station for Officinal Plants in 1928 was part of the directives aimed at the autarchic policies of the fascist regime, and the study of the acclimatization of exotic medicinal plants for their indigenous production had become e v e n more ne c e s s a ry, mindful the consequences of the First World War, which had seen the impossibility of their supply from abroad due to the interruption of relations with the Central Powers, the closure of the two ports of Hamburg and Trieste, and the foreclosure of the Balkan and Russia trade routes . During the years 1929-1948, up to 150 different species of medicinal plants were cultivated in the Station, which were studied for the production of strains with a high yield of active ingredients and for the production of seeds which were sent to the botanical and agronomic institutes from all over Italy. Among the most studied species were Indian hemp and the opium poppy.

 

In 1931, having received Cannabis indica seeds directly from Calcutta, Biagio Longo ( Director of the Botanical Garden) began cultivating them at the Experimental Station. To his surprise, all 200 seeds placed in cultivation in March germinated after 17 days. The culture produced 152 dioecious plants (134 females and 17 males) and 60 monoecious plants. The plants flowered in the second half of September, and initially Longo believed that this had been caused by late sowing, but with the cultivations of the following years he found that September flowering was the norm and was independent of the sowing period.

 

Although lush plants had been obtained in this first cultivation, Longo reported that they were inactive from a pharmacological point of view, while those of the second year (and all subsequent ones) were powerfully active. This followed in vivo experiments developed first, in 1933, by Pio Marfori, who at that time directed the Institute of Pharmacology and Therapy of the University of Naples, and a few years later by Vittorio Susanna, of the Institutes of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the same University . About ten years later Susanna developed further studies on the Longo hemp strain, confirming that its pharmacological activity was maintained over the generations. 

 

Longo was surprised by the vitality and acclimatisation power of the plants, characterised by notable resistance to low temperatures and which reached a height of 3.5 metres, and even reported the case of a female plant from the 1932 crop that had been abandoned to itself, without care or watering, and which lived until the following year, flowering again. Regarding the problem of speciation of the Cannabis genus, with the direct observation of plants of Indian origin Longo became even more convinced that the species he was cultivating was a species distinct from sativa hemp, and that it was the C. indica by Lamarck.

In the years that followed, Longo continued his cultivation experiences, and sent the seeds of the "Calcutta strain" which reproduced year after year in Naples to various botanical and agricultural institutes throughout Italy. From the detailed reports t hat he wrote every year on the activity of the Experimental Station, and which were published in the Bullettino dell'Orto Botanico  it was possible to follow the Italian diffusion of the Calcutta strain. In 1939 seeds of this strain were even sent to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which was part of Italian East Africa

 

Longo's "Calcutta strain" was kept active with annual cultivations for several decades,- incorporation of the Station in the early 1970s — at the grounds of the Botanical Garden. Colombo Cavara, who in the 1940s and 1950s was Chief Cultivator of the Experimental Station, reported a detailed description of the cultivation technique optimised following decades of agronomic experiences of the Calcutta strain.

Professor Bruno Menale, a botanist and ethnobotanist who currently works at the Orto Botanico, told me that in the 1990s the Calcutta strain was still cultivated under the guidance of Paolo Casoria, albeit to a lesse extent than in previous decades. In the 2000s, for a series of reasons (including a decline in interest in phytochemical and pharmacological research on the Calcutta strain, and above all an incessant "predation" by students and visitors), Indian hemp was no longer cultivated. The last cultivated specimen was observed by Menale more than 10 years ago.

For over 50 years the Calcutta strain has been a primary reference sample in phytochemical and pharmacological research carried out in Italy on hemp, both for scientific and forensic purposes […]

 

 

Chapter 2:

The theft of the Calcutta strain from the botanical garden of Naples

…to be continue

Edited April 21 by Amnesialocal