landrace

American  

[land-reys] / ˈlændˌreɪs /

noun

1. an animal breed or plant cultivar that, isolated from other populations of its species, has adapted to its local environment, especially by purposeful means of breeding and agriculture.

   landraces of rice from Sri Lanka;

   a Turkish dog that is a beautiful landrace.

2. (usually initial capital letter) any of several widely distributed strains of large, white, lop-eared swine of Danish origin.

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landrace British  

/ ˈlændˌreɪs /

noun

1. a white very long-bodied lop-eared breed of pork pig

2. a breed of Finnish sheep known for multiple births

3. botany an ancient or primitive cultivated variety of a crop plant

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Etymology

Origin of landrace

First recorded in 1930–35; from Danish: literally, “country breed,” equivalent to land “country, land” + race “breed, stock” (from English or French); land, race ²

Example Sentences

The landrace collection was assembled in England starting in 1924, when Arthur Ernest Watkins joined the University of Cambridge’s Plant Breeding Institute.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 16, 2024

Actor Jim Belushi, who opened Belushi Farms along the Rogue River in Oregon 15 years ago, is purposeful about his crop: He seeks original landrace strains that tell stories of grass from the past.

From National Geographic • Oct. 23, 2023

No story proves this better than the buzz over a recently cataloged Oaxacan corn landrace: Its mucus-coated roots host communities of nitrogen-providing bacteria, a trait that could eliminate the need for resource-intensive nitrogen fertilizers.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2023

Their archive, called the Watkins landrace collection, dates back 100 years and contains varieties from all over the world.

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2022

A landrace is a family of local varieties, each of which may have scores of “cultivars,” or cultivated varieties.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann