But what is it that gives these strains their white look? In fact, the whiteness might more accurately be described as a glistening sheen of silver and it's actually the crystallized resin that forms on both the leaves and buds of the plants that makes them look white in the right light.
Actually, 'white' is a bit of a tame description of these plants since many of them actually sparkle as if they were dusted with a coating of tiny diamonds, especially after you've smoked some of the harvest from them.
Most cannabis historians agree that the first white variety widely available to the general public was White Widow, created by legendary grower Scott Blakey (aka Shantibaba) in the early 1990s. The strain sprang to fame in 1995 when it won the Bio section of the High Times Cannabis Cup and has been a staple of Amsterdam's coffee shops ever since.
Other outstanding white strains include Great White Shark and White Widow. It too has been recognised as a prize winner at the Cannabis Cup and it's highly valued for its flavours of tropical fruit and fresh spice as well as its soaring, euphoric high and pronounced visual effects. Another Cannabis Cup prize winner is White Russian, a cross between the White Widow and AK 47 strains. It has a sweetish, skunky bouquet and an exceptionally high THC content of up to 22 percent.
