Purple Bud is a potent indica-dominant hybrid that delivers exactly what its name promises. This colorful strain, created by prolific breeders Sensi Seeds -- reportedly the original creators of Jack Herer -- is the product of several landrace varieties. Its background entails genetics from Afghani, Jamaican, and Hindu Kush strains, as well as indica favorite Purple Kush. Besides colorful and aromatic flowers, Purple Bud offers consumers a very relaxing high. This strain’s THC levels have been reported at between 15% and 20%.

Purple Bud’s flowers catch the eye right away. Usually medium to large in size, these buds have a pronounced spade-like shape, tapering down from a wide base into a pointed end. These compact nugs also have a classically indica bud structure, with their small leaves coiled tightly inward toward their central stems. Most importantly, the leaves themselves are green, mixed with shades of purple ranging from faint to deep indigo. These purple hues are the result of pigments called anthocyanins, which can trigger the production of colors other than green when agitated by cold weather during the growing process. A coating of trichomes caps off these already-colorful buds, accounting for their psychoactivity.

When properly cured, Purple Bud has a distinctly herbal character, with lavender and sage notes. There are also some dank and woodsy undertones that mellow out the strain’s overall impression. Meanwhile, grinding up these dense flowers releases the odor of spice and hash, likely passed on from parent strain Afghani. Purple Bud burns with a smooth, heavily perfumed smoke when it is combusted in a pipe or a joint. This smoke can tastes flowery with a hint of pine on the exhale. Notably, Purple Bud offers no distinct grape flavors -- this is because the pigments that create its color have no corresponding effect on its taste, which is determined by different compounds called terpenes.

Purple Bud’s high takes effect slowly, taking several minutes after smokers have savored its pleasant clouds before revealing itself. Aside from odd physical sensations like a throbbing around the forehead, users may detect and uplift in mood. Involuntary smiling and heavy eyelids can be expected, along with a suddenly easygoing outlook. Some changes in sensory perception are also commonly reported, including an intensification of certain sights or sounds. A few users may even undergo such trippy phenomena as distortions depth perception and in their ability to gauge the passage of time. Aside from thom these sensory changes, Purple Bud does not significantly alter the user’s cognitive abilities. Rather than an increase in cerebral patterns of thinking, consumers tend to experience a more mild kind of mental stimulation. While you may not be able to execute complex tasks, your creative inhibitions may be lifted, allowing for deep daydreaming. As the high progresses, a soothing body melt sinks in, making this strain as physically therapeutic as it is mentally liberating. Fortunately, though, this strain allows the stimulated mind to remain active even as it starts to immobilize the body. Because of its progressively sleepy vibes, Purple Bud is a strain best enjoyed at night.

Purple Bud can have several applications for medical cannabis patients as well. It may temporarily lift the troubling clouds of stress, depression, anxiety, and even PTSD. Physiologically speaking, it can numb pain, whether it’s temporary, as due to injury, or chronic, as due to conditions like fibromyalgia or arthritis. In the right setting and at the right dosage, this bud can also lull susceptible users to sleep. Because it is unlikely to induce the kind of thinking that leads to paranoia, Purple Bud is a good option for patients who are prone to panic or who have a low THC tolerance.

Sensi has made seeds of Purple Bud available through several digital retailers. Once obtained, it can be grown indoors or out, although outdoor cultivation calls for a semi-humid, Mediterranean-like climate. That said, however, the strain can be tolerant of temperature changes as well as user error, thanks to its heavy dose of landrace roots. Growers looking to bring out this strain’s purple potential should expose their crops to nighttime temperatures that are 10 to 15 degrees below normal, just before flowering begins. Purple Bud flowers within 8 to 9 weeks when grown indoors and offers growers a high yield for their efforts.

Purple Bud can be a luxurious and tasty nighttime treat. Its standout color and flavor also make it a novel way to spark conversation among fellow smokers.