Education · History and evidence
Why Are Chemdog and Chemdawg Spelled Differently? 8 Questions
· BUDDHA BROS
Chemdog, Chem Dog and Chemdawg appear in histories, research papers and plant labels, but spelling is only part of the story. A person’s nickname, an original selection and a wider family of named plants can be confused with one another. These eight questions separate firsthand recollections from genetic findings. The archival photograph is labelled Sour Diesel, a different name discussed in the historical account; it is not presented as a photograph of Chemdog.
Which spelling does the original naming account support?
Greg Krzanowski uses Chemdog in his Honeysuckle interview, explaining that he combined Chemweed and Dogbud. High Times also records P-Bud’s preference for Chem Dog rather than Chem Dawg. These accounts support the dog spelling, both joined and spaced.
Is Chemdog a person as well as a plant name?
Yes. Chemdog is the nickname of Greg Krzanowski, whose recollections concern the plants he selected and preserved. Canna Provisions introduces him by that nickname and discusses several named selections. When reading an interview, first identify whether a sentence describes the man, his original selection or later plants associated with the name.
What does the 91 in Chem 91 refer to?
The historical accounts connect it with 1991. High Times describes seeds associated with a Grateful Dead concert encounter and identifies the original Chem Dog as the selection later called Chem 91. Canna Provisions also dates Krzanowski’s first run to 1991; neither account authenticates every later label.
Are Chem 91 and Chem’s Sister interchangeable names?
Not in the cited history. High Times identifies them as different selections from the early seeds: Chem Dog became Chem 91, while Chem Dog A became Chem’s Sister. Dropping the suffix removes a distinction the account deliberately preserves. Related names can describe related plants without describing the same individual plant.
Why does the Chemdawg spelling appear in scientific research?
Schwabe and McGlaughlin encountered several spellings and added numbers or letters on sampled material. Their 2019 paper discusses how spelling, local naming and possible labelling mistakes complicate identification. Recording a label in a dataset is not an endorsement of its historical accuracy. Preserve the study’s spelling when describing its samples, and explain the naming difference separately.
Did genetic testing prove that every Chemdawg sample was identical?
No. In that study, six of seven Chemdawg-labelled samples were classified as first-order relatives, and five clustered in one analysis. Relatedness is not the same as demonstrating that every sample is an identical clone. The authors considered the findings compatible with a shared seed origin, while explicitly acknowledging that the historical account remained unverifiable.
Can a spelling change alone establish a different strain?
No. The same spelling can conceal differences, and different spellings may be attached to related material. The researchers discuss both possibilities and could not confirm every source of error. A useful historical record keeps the exact label, source and available genetic evidence together rather than treating an extra letter as a complete biological distinction.
Why is the photograph labelled Sour Diesel rather than Chemdog?
The Commons record identifies Sam Sutch’s photograph as Sour Diesel. High Times discusses Sour Diesel as a reported descendant in Chemdog’s history, which explains its contextual relevance. We retain that separate identification instead of relabelling the image. A photograph of a reportedly related variety cannot establish the ancestry or identity of another plant.