My BEST answer is this: Autoflower are a cross breed hybrid of Ruderalis like Low Ryder and an Indica and/or Sativa dominant strain. That being said, Ruderalis is a small, weak plant by itself. When autoflower seeds first came to market, they were small in stature, typically about 2 feet tall and although it's GOOD bud, it's less potent than more modern selectively bred autos. I must say though, my BerryRyder autoflower plants take ONLY about 60 days from seed to harvest every time and the bud was JUST as good and even BETTER than stuff from the local dispensary, which says a LOT!

Breeders have created SUPER autoflower seeds that far exceed the original strains! I have a BCN Critical XXL Auto is over 6 feet tall and will probably be one BIG bud about as big as my arm! The other 2 are about 5 feet tall! It's frosty, dense, gassy smelling and about 2 weeks from harvest! It's a little over 4 months old.
So being a bit of a novice breeder, I made some seeds from a male sire that was supposed to be a Blueberry OG male, not really sure because it was male...

and from a seed trade! But should produce BIG plants!
I also have a small, White Widow auto that is beautiful, but NOT as frosty, sticky or as potent smelling as MOST of my other plants! From a genetics theory standpoint, the WW autoflower may not be as potent as the photoperiod counterpart, but THC level may STILL exceed other, less potent photo strains!
So, in a nutshell... it's ALL about genetics!
Good luck and happy growing brother!
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BTW... When I do finally get the REAL African Black Magic, black phenotype, I will create an autoflower version of it!