Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation.[1] It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine. Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[2] The word "sativa" means things that are cultivated.

1. Cannabis sativa
female Cannabis sativa,
recreational/medicinal marijuana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Cannabis
Species: C. sativa
Binomial name
Cannabis sativa
L.
Subspecies
C. sativa subsp. sativa
C. sativa subsp. indica
C. sativa subsp. ruderalis
Male Cannabis sativa in flower
Cannabis sativa
Cannabis sativa is an
annual herbaceous
flowering plant indigenous
to Eastern Asia but now of
cosmopolitan distribution
due to widespread
cultivation.[1] It has been
cultivated throughout
recorded history, used as a
source of industrial fiber,
seed oil, food, recreation,
religious and spiritual
moods and medicine. Each
part of the plant is
harvested differently,
depending on the purpose
of its use. The species was
first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[2] The word "sativa"
means things that are cultivated.
Plant physiology
Pharmacology
Chemical constituents
Difference between C. sativa and C. indica
Common uses
Cultivation
Cultivars
See also
References
External links
The flowers of Cannabis sativa are unisexual and plants are most
often either male or female.[3] It is a short-day flowering plant, with
staminate (male) plants usually taller and less robust than pistillate
(female or male) plants.[4] The flowers of the female plant are
arranged in racemes and can produce hundreds of seeds. Male
Contents
Plant physiology

2. A female sativa cannabis strain in
flowering or “budding” stage.
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Cannabis sativa, scientific drawing
from c1900
plants shed their pollen and die several weeks prior to seed ripening
on the female plants. Under typical conditions with a light period
of 12 to 14 hours both sexes are produced in equal numbers
because of heritable X and Y chromosomes.[5] Although genetic
factors dispose a plant to become male or female, environmental
factors including the diurnal light cycle can alter sexual
expression.[6] Naturally occurring monoecious plants, with both
male and female parts, are either sterile or fertile but artificially
induced "hermaphrodites" can have fully functional reproductive
organs. "Feminized" seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers
are derived from artificially "hermaphroditic" females that lack the
male gene, or by treating the plants with hormones or silver
thiosulfate.
Although the main psychoactive
constituent of Cannabis is
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the
plant is known to contain more
than 500 compounds, among
them at least 113 cannabinoids;
however, most of these "minor"
cannabinoids are only produced
in trace amounts.[7] Besides
THC, another cannabinoid produced in high concentrations by some
plants is cannabidiol (CBD), which is not psychoactive but has
recently been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous
system.[8] Differences in the chemical composition of Cannabis
varieties may produce different effects in humans. Synthetic THC,
called dronabinol, does not contain cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol
(CBN), or other cannabinoids, which is one reason why its
pharmacological effects may differ significantly from those of natural
Cannabis preparations.
Beside cannabinoids, Cannabis chemical constituents include about 120 compounds responsible for its
characteristic aroma. These are mainly volatile terpenes and sesquiterpenes.
α-Pinene[9]
Myrcene[9]
Linalool[9]
Limonene[9]
Trans-β-ocimene[9]
α-Terpinolene[9]
Trans-caryophyllene[9]
α-Humulene,[9] contributes to the characteristic aroma of Cannabis sativa
Caryophyllene,[9] with which some hashish detection dogs are trained[10]
Pharmacology
Chemical constituents

3. Human intervention has produced variation within the species and some authorities only recognize one species
in the genus that has had divergent selective pressure to either produce plants with more fiber or plants with
greater THC content.[11] Large variability exists within either species, and there is an expanding discussion
whether the existing paradigm used to differentiate species adequately represents the variability found within
the genus Cannabis.[12][13][14] There are five chemotaxonomic types of Cannabis: one with high levels of
THC, one which is more fibrous and has higher levels of CBD, one that is an intermediate between the two,
another one with high levels of cannabigerol (CBG), and the last one almost without cannabinoids.[15]
Cannabis strains with relatively high CBD:THC ratios are less likely to induce anxiety than vice versa.[16]
This may be due to CBD's antagonistic effects at the cannabinoid receptors, compared to THC's partial agonist
effect.[17] CBD is also a 5-HT1A receptor (serotonin) agonist, which may also contribute to an anxiolytic-
content effect.[18] The effects of sativa are well known for its cerebral high, while indica is well known for its
sedative effects which some prefer for night time use.[18] Both types are used as medical cannabis. Indica
plants are normally shorter and stockier than sativas.[19] Indicas have broader, deeply serrated leaves and a
compact and dense flower cluster.
Cannabis sativa seeds are chiefly used to make hempseed oil which can be used for cooking, lamps, lacquers,
or paints. They can also be used as caged-bird feed, as they provide a source of nutrients for most animals. The
flowers and fruits (and to a lesser extent the leaves, stems, and seeds) contain psychoactive chemical
compounds known as cannabinoids that are consumed for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes.
When so used, preparations of flowers and fruits (called marijuana) and leaves and preparations derived from
resinous extract (e.g., hashish) are consumed by smoking, vaporising, and oral ingestion. Historically,
tinctures, teas, and ointments have also been common preparations. In traditional medicine of India in
particular C. sativa has been used as hallucinogenic, hypnotic, sedative, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory
agent.[20] Terpenes have gained public awareness through the growth and education of medical and
recreational cannabis. Organizations and companies operating in cannabis markets have pushed education and
marketing of terpenes in their products as a way to differentiate taste and effects of cannabis.[21] The entourage
effect, which describes the synergy of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other plant compounds, has also helped
further awareness and demand for terpenes in cannabis products.
A Cannabis plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life requires more than 16–18 hours of light per day to
stay vegetative. Flowering usually occurs when darkness equals at least 12 hours per day. The flowering cycle
can last anywhere between 7 and fifteen weeks, depending on the strain and environmental conditions. When
the production of psychoactive cannabinoids is sought, female plants are grown separately from male plants to
induce parthenocarpy in the female plant's fruits (popularly called "'sin semilla' which is Spanish for 'without
seed'" ) and increase the production of cannabinoid-rich resin.
In soil, the optimum pH for the plant is 6.3 to 6.8. In hydroponic growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.2 to
5.8, making Cannabis well-suited to hydroponics because this pH range is hostile to most bacteria and fungi.
Tissue culture multiplication has become important in producing medically important clones,[22] while seed
production remains the generally preferred means of multiplication.[11] Sativa plants have narrow leaves and
grow best in warm environments. They do, however, take longer to flower than their Indica counterparts, and
Difference between C. sativa and C. indica
Common uses
Cultivation

4. they grow taller than the Indica cannabis strains as well.[23]
Broadly, there are three main cultivar groups of cannabis that are cultivated today:
Cultivars primarily cultivated for their fibre, characterised by long stems and little branching.
Cultivars grown for seed which can be eaten entirely raw or from which hemp oil is extracted.
Cultivars grown for medicinal or recreational purposes. A nominal if not legal distinction is often
made between industrial hemp, with concentrations of psychoactive compounds far too low to
be useful for that purpose, and marijuana.
Cannabis indica
Cannabis ruderalis
Cannabis strains
1. Mary-Lou E. Florian; Dale Paul Kronkright; Ruth E. Norton (21 March 1991). The Conservation
of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials (https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp5OAgAAQBAJ&p
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ISBN 9781931160278
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C&pg=PA459). Tata McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 459–. ISBN 978-1-259-08137-8.
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tps://zenodo.org/record/1431411). Botanical Gazette. 71 (3): 197–219. doi:10.1086/332818 (htt
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Navarro, Patricia; Etxebarria, Nestor; Usobiaga, Aresatz (2016-02-02). "Evolution of the
Cannabinoid and Terpene Content during the Growth ofCannabis sativaPlants from Different
Chemotypes". Journal of Natural Products. 79 (2): 324–331. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00949
(https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.jnatprod.5b00949). PMID 26836472 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.n
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phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
3165946). British Journal of Pharmacology. 163 (7): 1344–1364. doi:10.1111/j.1476-
5381.2011.01238.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1476-5381.2011.01238.x). ISSN 1476-5381
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9. Novak J, Zitterl-Eglseer K, Deans SG, Franz CM (2001). "Essential oils of different cultivars of
Cannabis sativa L. and their antimicrobial activity". Flavour and Fragrance Journal. 16 (4):
259–262. doi:10.1002/ffj.993 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fffj.993).
Cultivars
See also
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12. Piomelli, Daniele; Russo, Ethan B. (2016-01-14). "The Cannabis sativa Versus Cannabis
indica Debate: An Interview with Ethan Russo, MD" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC5576603). Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. 1 (1): 44–46.
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Nestor; Usobiaga, Aresatz (2014-10-23). "Identification and quantification of cannabinoids in
Cannabis sativa L. plants by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry".
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Howtogrowmarijuana.com. Retrieved from http://howtogrowmarijuana.com/cannabinoids-
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Medicinal Plant with a Long History.”
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Ko3b3cUC&pg=PA103). CABI. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-1-84593-692-1.
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Retrieved 2020-05-08.
External links

6. CBD Hemp Oil in UK
Data related to Cannabis sativa at Wikispecies
Popular Sativa Marijuana Strains (https://www.marijuana-guides.com/strains/sativa/)
Cooking With CBD Oil (https://cannabishempoil.co.uk/)
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