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One accidental pollination in 2011 created Gorilla Glue #4, later known as Original Glue — and one of the most influential genetic families in modern cannabis. This is the complete GG4 family tree: the origin story, the foundational cuts, and all 127 strains, selections and connections that followed.
The Origins: Chem’s Sister × Sour Dubb × Chocolate Diesel
Before the Glue, the seed line behind the family was already in motion. According to Zoolander’s firsthand account, the earlier line was Chem Sis × Northern Lights 1×5 × Sour Dubb — the first cross ever made with the Sour Dubb clone. Zoolander traces the Sour Dubb cut through Greyskull’s cousin → Greyskull → Zoolander, and says he pollinated selected branches under Ziploc bags to keep stray pollen out of the rest of the room, producing only about 200 to 300 seeds in total, with roughly 50 connected to this line. Those genetics eventually reached Joesy Whales’ room.
In 2011, Joesy’s medical card had lapsed when an emergency scare forced him to move everything out of his grow room overnight. He moved the plants back roughly a week later — and the Chem’s Sister × Sour Dubb plant developed male flowers and accidentally pollinated a female Chocolate Diesel plant.
Joesy largely discarded the resulting seeds, but Mardogg sprouted some of them during a joint grow. Five plants came up: GG1, which was kept; GG2, sent to Michigan and later lost; GG3, which did not make it; GG4, the #4 selection; and a runt, which was also kept. GG5 was later created from GG1 × GG4.
The name came during trimming: Joesy grabbed his phone after handling GG4 and it stuck to his resin-covered fingers — “like Gorilla Glue.” By 2014, Joesy had reportedly given away roughly 200 GG4 clones as gifts, the cut spread through ICMag and California grower circles, and GG4 won 1st place at High Times Cannabis Cup events in Los Angeles and Michigan.
In 2015, Don “Joesy Whales” Peabody, Ross “Lone Watty” Johnson and Cat Franklin formed GG Strains to protect the line and build a licensing structure around it — breeding through GG Genetics (Joesy + Cat), licensing and branding through GG Strains (Cat + Lone + Joesy). In 2017, The Gorilla Glue Company sued over the name, and the family moved officially toward Original Glue and GG4. Ross died in 2019 and Joesy died in 2020; Cat continued protecting the genetics, archives and history. As she puts it, the story will always be: “2 Breeders & a Cat.”
The Gorilla Glue Genetic Map: All 127 Strains
From that one accidental cross, breeders built generation after generation: first-generation hybrids like Grease Monkey and Zookies, dessert and Gelato crosses, OG and Chem lanes, purple and fruit Glue lines, autos, and modern polyhybrids like Gorilla Butter and White Truffle. Not every name below is a direct GG4 descendant — some are parents, grandparents, shared-ancestry lines, selections or close connections to the Glue family. Strain histories can be complicated, cuts can share names, and some parentage is disputed; this tree is a working reference, not a definitive pedigree.
Base Genetics
- Chem's Sister
- Sour Dubb
- Chocolate Diesel
- GG1
- GG4
- GG5
Grandparents & Earlier Ancestry
- Northern Lights 1×5
- Dog Bud
- Chocolate Trip (Katsu F1 cut)
- Sour Diesel v1.5
- Chocolate Thai
- Indigo Diamond
- Sour Bubble
- NYCD
- BOGBubble
Major Glue Phenotypes / Clone Lines
- Gorilla Glue #2
- Royal Gorilla
- White Gorilla
Notable Glue Hybrids (1st-Gen Crosses)
- Grease Monkey
- Zookies
- Gorilla Breath
- Glookies
- Gorilla Cookies
- Gorilla Cake
- Glue Gelato
- Gelato Glue
- Wedding Glue
- Cookies Glue
- Glue Cream Pie
- Gorilla Pie
- Gorilla Runtz
- Runtz Glue
- Super Glue
- Lime-o-Rilla
- Salami Glue
- Monty Gluethon
- Duct Tape
- Gorilla Dosha
- Gorilla Zkittlez / Gorilla Z
- GlueChee
Glue Derivatives (Early / Direct Descendants)
- Gorilla Kush
- Gorilla OG
- Gorilla Gas
- Gorilla Valley OG
- Gorilla Chem
- Chem Glue
- Diesel Glue
- Orange Glue
- Elmer's Glue
- Locktite
- The Sauce
- Glue Trap
- Jilly Glue
- Glue Sniffer
OG / Kush / Breath Expansions
- Gorilla OG Kush
- Ghost Gorilla
- Gorilla Ghost
- Space Monkey
- Kimbo Glue
- Sunshine Glue
- Silverback Gorilla
- Golden Glue
Chem / Diesel / White Lane
- Chemdiesel
- Sour Skunk
- White Glue
- I-95 Glue
- Gorilla Diesel
Blue / Purple / Fruit Glue Lines
- Glueberry OG
- Glueberry Auto
- Blue Glue
- Gorilla Berry
- Gorilla Grapes
- Purple Glue
- Purple Gorilla Glue
- Strawberry Glue
- Tropical Glue
- Banana Glue
- Gorilla Mango
- Gorilla Dream
- Gorilla Juice
Haze / Sativa Glue Bridges
- Gorilla Haze
- Alien Gorilla
- Glue Star
- Gorilla Thunder
- Gorilla Bomb
- Gorilla Bubble
- Gorilla Grip
- Gorilla Skunk
Autos & Reworked Glue Lines
- Original Glue Auto
- Gorilla Glue Auto
- GG Number 4 Auto
- Royal Gorilla Auto
- Auto Glueberry OG
- Gorilla Zkittlez Auto
- White Gorilla Haze Auto
- Muchacha / Glue Sniffer Auto
- 4 Assed Monkey
- Gold Glue
Modern Polyhybrids & Misc Glue Lines
- Gorilla MAC
- Gorilla Mints
- Gorilla Smoothie
- Gorilla Punch
- Gorilla Hash
- Gorilla Ice Cream
- Gorilla Sherbet
Peanut Butter Breath Lane
- Peanut Butter Breath
- Gorilla Butter
- White Truffle
- Tagalongs
Grease Monkey Descendants
- Donkey Butter
- Greasy Runtz
- Funky Charms
- Apes in Space
- Vanilla Gorilla
- Truffle Monkey
White Truffle Descendants & Selections
- Chimera
- Chimera #3
Glue Sniffer Descendants
- Snowblower
- Hair of the Dog
- Hot Mess
Modern Branded Releases / Exact Pedigree Unconfirmed
- King Kong (Up the Hill)
More Strains — Modern Polyhybrids & Misc Glue Lines
- Gorilla Snackz
- Supa Glue
- Godzilla Glue
- Cosmic Glue
- XXXGlue
- Fatties Glue
One Accidental Cross. Countless Generations.
From an accidental pollination to legendary cuts and modern hybrids, Gorilla Glue helped shape generations of cannabis genetics. The family is still growing.
Did We Miss Something?
We know we’ve probably missed some favorites. What Glue strains, cuts or connections should we add next?
Sources
Zoolander. Personal correspondence with nuggnotes. Instagram direct messages, 2026. Primary source for the Chem Sis × Northern Lights 1×5 × Sour Dubb seed work, Sour Dubb’s path through Greyskull, the small seed batch and branch-pollination technique.
Franklin, Catherine “Cat.” Personal correspondence with nuggnotes. Instagram direct messages, 2026. Primary source for Cat’s partnership with Joesy Whales and Ross “Lone Watty” Johnson, GG Strains operations, Mardogg’s role in sprouting the accidental seeds, the trademark fight, and preservation of the group’s archives and genetics after Joesy’s death.
RB26. “Gorilla Glue #4.” International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums, 24 Jan. 2014. Contemporary public record identifying Joesy Whales as breeder, GG4 as clone-only, its Sour Dubb / Chem Sis / Chocolate Diesel ancestry, the 2014 Los Angeles Cup win and the cut’s forum distribution.
High Times Staff. “2014 Michigan Medical Cannabis Cup Winners.” High Times, 27 July 2014. Contemporary competition results confirming Gorilla Glue won 1st Place Hybrid at the 2014 Michigan Medical Cannabis Cup.
Schiller, Melissa. “Gorilla Glue vs. Gorilla Glue.” Cannabis Business Times, 1 Nov. 2017. Covers GG Strains, Catherine Franklin’s company role, the Gorilla Glue trademark dispute, settlement and transition away from the Gorilla Glue name.
The Gorilla Glue Company v. GG Strains LLC. No. 1:17-cv-00193, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, filed 24 Mar. 2017. Primary legal record of the 2017 federal trademark case between The Gorilla Glue Company and GG Strains LLC.
nuggnotes. “Gorilla Glue #4: The Family Tree.” Instagram post, 10 Jan. 2026, and its comment thread. Source for the original family-tree strain list; the published list above was audited against the post and comment-suggested additions, with duplicates merged and disputed entries held out (e.g., Chocolope).
nuggnotes. “Gorilla Glue #4 Strain Origin Story: Joesy Whales and the Original Glue.” nuggnotes.com. nuggnotes’ full origin-story article, on which the origins section above is based.
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