About Me
Cannabis is a flowering plant genus that includes three putative species, C. sativa L., Cannabis indica Lam., and C. ruderalis Janisch. Some authors consider the wide-leaflet variant from the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan to be a separate species, although so-called "Cannabis afghanica" is not a legitimately published name. Industrial hemp products are generally made from Cannabis sativa plants certified to produce very low levels of THC. The plant is believed to have originated in central Asia. Another common name for Cannabis is marijuana, a term coined by Mexican immigrants coming to America to conceal the fact they were smoking cannabis, named for Mary and John the Baptist. Cannabis plants produce a unique family of compounds called cannabinoids(the active ingredients) that when ingested produce psychological and/or physiological effects. The psychoactive ingredient that produces the true "high" is THC, ?(delta)-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. The plant usually comes in the form of dried flowers and leaves, or various extracts such as resin (hashish).Cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb. The leaves are palmately compound, with serrate leaflets. The first pair of leaves usually have a single leaflet, the number gradually increasing up to a maximum of about thirteen leaflets per leaf (usually seven or nine), depending on variety and growing conditions. At the top of a flowering plant, this number again diminishes to a single leaflet per leaf. The lower leaf pairs usually occur in an opposite leaf arrangement and the upper leaf pairs in an alternate arrangement on the main stem of a mature plant.Cannabis usually has imperfect flowers with staminate "male" and pistillate "female" flowers occurring on separate plants,[2] although hermaphroditic flowers sometimes occur.[3] Male flowers are borne on loose panicles, and female flowers are borne on racemes.[4] It is not unusual for individual plants to bear both male and female flowers in some strains, a condition called monoecy.[5] On monoecious plants, flowers of both sexes may occur on separate inflorescences, or on the same inflorescence.[3]Cannabinoids, terpenoids, and other volatile compounds are secreted by glandular trichomes that occur most abundantly on the floral calyxes and bracts of female plants.[6]All known strains of Cannabis are wind-pollinated[7] and produce "seeds" that are technically called achenes.[8] Most strains of Cannabis are short day plants,[7] with the possible exception of C. sativa subsp. sativa var. spontanea (= C. ruderalis), which is commonly described as "auto-flowering" and may be day-neutral.Cannabis is naturally diploid, having a chromosome complement of 2n=20, although polyploid individuals have been artificially produced.[9] Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant which includes one or more species. The plant is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions just north west of the Himalayas. It is also known as hemp, although this term usually refers to varieties of Cannabis cultivated for non-drug use. Cannabis plants produce a group of chemicals called cannabinoids which produce mental and physical effects when consumed. As a drug it usually comes in the form of dried leaves (marijuana), resin (hashish), or various extracts collectively known as hash oil.
