There are three strains of cannabis. These are:
- Cannabis sativa
- Cannabis indica
- Cannabis ruderalis.
Each of these spices has its own characteristic properties. After Googling for a few hours, most researchers seem to agree on the following characteristics of these three strains. Not all scientists agree with these claims, so this is more of a guide than an absolute truth.
Table of Contents :
Cannabis Sativa
Cannabis sativa is the original cannabis plant and comes from central Asia. It thrives best in the part of the world that has a warm, dry climate with long sunny days. E.g. Southeast Asia, Africa, parts of West Asia and Latin and South America.
Sativa plants can reach 5 meters tall, and are thin with finger-like leaves. This strain also takes longer to mature than any of the other cannabis strains.
Sativa is known for its invigorating, energizing effect that can help reduce anxiety or stress and increase creativity and focus. Sativa can also be helpful for people with depression, headaches, nausea and loss of appetite. Sativa plants tend to contain more THC than CBD.
Using sativa-dominant strains can help you feel productive and creative, not relaxed and lethargic. Since the strain gives you an invigorating effect, instead of a relaxing and lethargic effect, the strain is suitable for use during the day.
Cannabis Indica
The Cannabis indica plant originates from the Middle East (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tibet), and thrives better in colder climates than the sativa plant. The plants have adapted to the often harsh, dry and turbulent climate of the Hindu Kush mountains. Indica plants are therefore significantly shorter than the sativa plant, with bushy greens and thick leaves that grow wide. They also grow faster than sativas and each plant produces more buds.
Cannabis indica generally has a higher CBD content than Cannabis sativa, although the ratio of CBD to THC is very close to 1:1.
Indika is usually associated with a full body effect. Indika should be a more effective pain reliever than sativa, and it should give you a deeper relaxation and reduce insomnia. Many medical cannabis strains contain a hybrid form of this strain.
Cannabis Ruderalism
Cannabis ruderalis originates from the cooler parts of the world. Originally from Russia and the border between Hungary and Ukraine. It also grows in the Himalayan regions of India and Siberia. It grows wild, and some speculate that it may originate from escaped hemp plants. These plants grow quickly, which is ideal for the cold environments with little sunlight in these places. The plants rarely grow taller than 12 inches and appear as small bushy plants that can go from seed to harvest in a little more than a month.
Cannabis ruderalis does not have very high levels of THC or CBD, but growers value it for its ability to flower on its own, without the help of a cultivator. This is the original “autoflower” plant. Ruderalism therefore uses to create hybrids with sativa or indica. Without this species we would not have hybrid sativa and indica autoflower seeds.
The reason the Ruderalis strain has these characteristics is that the plant blooms based on how old the plant is instead of how many hours of light the plant receives. A Ruderalis plant flowers by itself when the plant is 2-3 weeks old, while a Sativa or Indica plant must have a minimum of 11 hours of darkness to flower.
Hybrids
By breeding one cannabis strain with another, e.g. a Sativa strain with an Indica strain, we get a new hybrid cannabis strain with its own distinctive properties.
Each cannabis strain has a different concentration of the cannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), as well as other compounds. The producers cultivate the plants to have a certain appearance, taste and effect on the user.
Scientists estimate that there are currently at least 700 different hybrid cannabis strains.
THC and CBD
Sativa and Indica today contain roughly the same amount of THC. Both strains are available as slightly potent strains with a low THC percentage and as extremely potent plants with a THC percentage of over 25%. The same reasoning applies to CDB.
If you are looking for a strain with a high degree of THC and/or CDB, you must study the various hybrid strains that are currently on the market. The same applies if you are looking for certain characteristics or taste.
Sources:
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/indica-vs-sativa
