''Cannabis indica'' is an annual plant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the family

Cannabaceae Cannabaceae is a small family of flowering plants, known as the hemp family. As now circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including '' Cannabis'' (hemp), '' Humulus'' (hops) and '' Celtis'' (hackberri ...

indigenous to the Hindu Kush mountains of Southern Asia. The plant produces large amounts of

tetrahydrocannabinol Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a cannabinoid found in cannabis. It is the principal psychoactive constituent of ''Cannabis'' and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) de ...

(THC) and

tetrahydrocannabivarin Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV, THV, O-4394, GWP42004) is a Homologous series, homologue of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) having a propyl (3-carbon) side chain instead of pentyl (5-carbon), making it non-psychoactive in lower doses. It has been shown ...

(THCV), with total

cannabinoid Cannabinoids () are several structural classes of compounds found primarily in the ''Cannabis'' plant or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoact ...

levels being much higher than observed in industrial hemp varieties. It is now widely grown in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, as well as southern and

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and is cultivated for purposes including

hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...

in India. The high concentrations of THC or THCV provide

euphoric Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and danci ...

effects making it popular for use for several purposes, not only simple

pleasure Pleasure is experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious animals find ...

but also clinical drug research, potential new drug research, and use in

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

, among many others.

Taxonomy

In 1785,

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

published a description of a second species of ''

Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

'', which he named ''Cannabis indica''. Lamarck based his description of the newly named species on plant specimens collected in

Richard Evans Schultes Richard Evans Schultes (''SHULL-tees'';Jonathan Kandell ''The New York Times'', April 13, 2001, Accessed April 26, 2020. January 12, 1915 – April 10, 2001) was an American biologist, considered to be the father of modern ethnobotany. He is kno ...

described ''C. indica'' as relatively short, conical, and densely branched, whereas '' C. sativa'' was described as tall and laxly branched. Loran C. Anderson described ''C. indica'' plants as having short, broad leaflets whereas those of ''C. sativa'' were characterized as relatively long and narrow. ''C. indica'' plants conforming to Schultes's and Anderson's descriptions originated from the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

mountain range. Because of the often harsh and variable climate of those parts (extremely cold winters and warm summers), ''C. indica'' is well-suited for cultivation in

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

s. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''indica'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "of India" and has come to be synonymous with the

cannabis strain ''Cannabis'' strains is a popular name to refer to plant varieties of the monospecific genus ''Cannabis sativa'' L.. They are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant, which encompasses various sub-species '' C. sativa'', '' C. indica'', ...

. There was very little debate about the taxonomy of ''Cannabis'' until the 1970s, when botanists like

began testifying in court on behalf of accused persons who sought to avoid criminal charges of possession of ''C. sativa'' by arguing that the plant material could instead be ''C. indica''.

Cultivation

Broad-leafed ''C. indica'' plants in the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

are traditionally cultivated for the production of

charas Charas is a cannabis concentrate made from the resin of a live cannabis plant (''Cannabis sativa'' either ''Cannabis indica, ''Indica' subspecies or ''Sativa'' subspecies) and is handmade in the Indian subcontinent. The plant grows wild thr ...

, a form of

. Pharmacologically, ''C. indica''

landrace A landrace is a Domestication, domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural Environment (biophysical), environment of agric ...

s tend to have higher THC content than ''C. sativa'' strains. Some users report more of a "stoned" feeling and less of a "high" from ''C. indica'' when compared to ''C. sativa''. (The terms ''sativa'' and ''indica'', used in this sense, are more appropriately termed "narrow-leaflet" and "wide-leaflet" drug type, respectively.) The ''C. indica'' high is often referred to as a "body buzz" and has beneficial properties such as

pain relief Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals ...

in addition to being an effective treatment for insomnia and an

anxiolytic An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or anti-anxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxie ...

, as opposed to ''C. sativa'''s more common reports of a cerebral, creative and energetic high, and even (albeit rarely) including

hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

. Differences in the

terpenoid The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic compound, organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeabl ...

content of the essential oil may account for some of these differences in effect. Common ''C. indica'' strains for recreational or

medicinal Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

use include

Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...

and Northern Lights. A recent genetic analysis included both the narrow-leaflet and wide-leaflet drug "biotypes" under ''C. indica'', as well as southern and eastern Asian

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

(fiber/seed) landraces and wild Himalayan populations.

Genome

In 2011, a team of Canadian researchers led by Andrew Sud announced that they had sequenced a draft genome of the Purple Kush strain of ''C. indica''.

Gallery

References

External links

*
Popular Indica Marijuana Strains

on geopium.org *

Trending Indica Cannabis Strains
{{Authority control Cannabis strains Entheogens Hemp Euphoriants Plants described in 1785