Cannabis Plants

Cannabis Plants

Cannabis Plants is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. The plant is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions just north of the Himalayas in India. It is also known as hemp, although this term usually refers to cannabis cultivated for non-drug use. As a drug it usually comes in the form of dried flowers (marijuana), resin (hashish), or various extracts collectively referred to as hash oil.

The genus Cannabis was formerly placed with nettles in the family Urticaceae or with mulberries in the family Moraceae, but is now considered along with hops (Humulus sp.) to belong to the family Cannabaceae. All strains of Cannabis can interbreed which means all known Cannabis plants satisfy the criteria for a single species type called (Cannabis Plants sativa L.).[1] However Cannabis Plants has shown three distinct landrace known as Cannabis Plants sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis that are geographically isolated. Botanists, especially cannabis specialists, often refer to these three cannabis landrace as separate species or subspecies types. Whether the different strains of Cannabis constitute a single species (Cannabis sativa L.) or multiple species has been a contentious issue for well over two centuries.[2][3]

Cannabis Plants has three different forms of plant sexuality, with some plants being dioecious, and other plants being hermaphroditic or monoecious.[4] It is traditionally (albeit contentiously) divided into at least five subspecies, pure sativa, pure indica, indica/sativa, mostly sativa and mostly indica, each found as a cultivar and a wild variety.[5][6] Cannabis sativa male plants show evidence of selection for traits that enhance fiber production and seed-oil (for fuel) but the female plant produce seeds (for food) and flower buds that can be used as a psychoactive substance because it has higher levels of the psychoactive delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), whereas Cannabis indica was primarily selected for drug production and has relatively higher levels of cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabinol (CBN) than THC, which have proved efficacious in the treatment of various chronic diseases (Cancer, AIDS, Glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis, Brain Tumors etc.).

Botanists Richard E. Schultes and Loran Anderson also conducted taxonomic studies of Cannabis, and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to support recognition of three species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica Lam., and Cannabis ruderalis.[7][8][3] According to their species descriptions, C. sativa is tall and laxly branched with relatively narrow leaflets, Cannabis indica is shorter, conical in shape, and has relatively wide leaflets, and Cannabis ruderalis is short, branchless, and grows wild in central Asia. This concept was embraced by cannabis aficionados who commonly distinguish narrow-leafed "sativa" drug strains from wide-leafed "indica" drug strains.

A recent study of genetic variation in Cannabis Plants supports recognition of C. sativa and C. indica as separate species, although the existence of a third species, C. ruderalis, is less certain. This study assigned hemp (fiber/seed) landraces and feral populations from Europe, central Asia, and Asia Minor to C. sativa. Cannabis indica includes both narrow-leafed drug (NLD) and wide-leafed drug (WLD) strains, as well as southern and eastern Asian hemp strains and feral Himalayan populations[9].

In 2005 a DNA study of the variation in Cannabis Plants according to the DNA in their mitochondria and chloroplasts was conducted. The results showed three distinct "races" of cannabis, including the newly discovered Cannabis rasta. In central Asia the THC-rich indica predominated, while in western Europe sativa was more common. In India, south-east Asia, Africa, Mexico and Jamaica the rasta variant predominated. It looks similar to the sativa subspecies, but generally contains higher levels of THC. NewScientist. Despite their genetic differences, different subspecies of cannabis can be easily crossbred [1]

Some authors now refer to C. indica as the subspecies Cannabis sativa subsp. indica and C. ruderalis as the variety Cannabis sativa var. ruderalis reflecting the fact they may not be distinct enough to be classified as separate species. Several other botanical names have also been applied. IPNI

Cannabis Plants is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Ghost Moth and The Nutmeg. Normaalne tõmmata.