How Cannabis Strains Are Described in Koh Samui

By Siam Green · · Updated 29 June 2026
Chaweng Beach area on Koh Samui, home to Siam Green Cannabis Co dispensary

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Strain names in Thailand read like a dessert menu, and the labels next to them are dense with terms: landrace, hybrid, sativa-leaning, a row of terpenes, a THC percentage. This article unpacks that vocabulary so the labels make sense, using five strains you’ll come across around Koh Samui as worked examples. None of it is advice on what to buy or use. It is background, so you can read a label and ask sharper questions.

Thailand’s rules changed fast. Medical cannabis was legalized in 2019, recreational use was decriminalized in 2022, and the retail scene expanded quickly after that. Many shops now publish educational material online next to their listings, which is roughly what this guide is.

The words on a Thai cannabis label

Walk into any shop in Chaweng and the staff and the jar labels will throw a few terms at you. Here is what they mean.

Landrace vs hybrid. A landrace strain developed in one region over generations without deliberate crossbreeding. Thailand has its own landrace sativas. A hybrid is the opposite: two parent strains crossed on purpose, usually named after that cross. Most of what sits on a Thai shelf is a hybrid.

Indica, sativa, and the lean. These words describe a plant’s growth habit and the general profile growers associate with it. In practice almost everything sold is a hybrid that leans one way, so you’ll read “sativa-leaning” or “indica-leaning” far more often than a pure label. The full breakdown is in sativa vs indica vs hybrid.

Terpenes. Terpenes are the aromatic compounds that give each strain its smell. Caryophyllene reads peppery, myrcene earthy and musky, limonene citrusy. A label’s terpene list is really an aroma list. We go deeper in why a terpene profile matters.

What the THC and CBD numbers mean

Every licensed Thai shop posts lab figures next to its flower. The THC percentage is the share of THC by dry weight that a lab measured in that batch. A figure like 22% works out to roughly 220 milligrams of THC per gram. CBD is a separate cannabinoid that does not cause intoxication, and it is measured the same way.

A higher THC figure is not a quality grade and not a suggestion to reach for it. It is a measurement, and the same strain can test differently from one harvest to the next. If a number on a label is unclear, that is a fair thing to ask staff about. For how the two cannabinoids differ, see THC vs CBD.

Five strains as worked examples

The names below are not a ranking. Each one shows a piece of the vocabulary in action: landrace versus hybrid, the indica or sativa lean, and the way a terpene list maps to an aroma.

Royal Purple, a Thai landrace sativa. A landrace is a plant that stabilized in one region over generations rather than being crossed in a grow room. Royal Purple is a Thai sativa landrace said to trace back to Barkuna Cannabis. When a label reads “Thai landrace sativa,” this is the kind of plant it means: native genetics, a sativa lean, and the purple tint some phenotypes show.

Guava Pie, a hybrid named for its parents. Most strains on a Thai shelf are hybrids, meaning two parent strains were crossed. Guava Pie comes from Strawberry Pie and Guava, and the name is a clue to the aroma the breeder was after. Its terpene list runs caryophyllene, myrcene, and limonene, the same compounds you will read about on plenty of other labels.

Tarte Tatin, how terpenes shape aroma. Another hybrid, crossed from GMO and French Toast. Its listed terpenes are caryophyllene, limonene, and humulene. Limonene is the citrus note, caryophyllene reads as pepper, humulene is the hoppy, earthy edge. Read enough labels and the terpene list starts to tell you how a strain will smell before you open the jar.

Watermelon Cream Soda, when lineage is uncertain. Not every strain has a settled family tree. Watermelon Cream Soda is usually described as a cross of Watermelon Punch and Seattle Soda, though some sources name Papaya Punch instead. Its terpenes are myrcene, caryophyllene, and limonene. It sits between sativa and indica lean, which is why you will see it called balanced or simply hybrid rather than one or the other.

Red Velvet, an indica-leaning hybrid. Indica-leaning is shorthand you will see often. Red Velvet crosses 501st OG and Purple Hulk, and its terpenes are myrcene, limonene, and bisabolol. Bisabolol is a floral, chamomile-like terpene, which is why the aroma reads floral and citrusy.

In Koh Samui

The Siam Green Cannabis Co. branch in Koh Samui is near Central Chaweng, just off Chaweng Beach Road, in the middle of the island’s busiest stretch. Thai law sets who can be in the room and what gets checked at the door: you need to be 20 or older, staff will ask for a passport or ID, and the law expects responsible use. Those checks are standard at every licensed shop, not a Siam Green quirk.

If a term on a label is not clear, the staff at the Chaweng branch can walk you through a strain’s lineage, its terpene list, and what the lab numbers mean, face to face. Reading about the vocabulary is one thing. Asking someone in the shop is usually faster.

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