1973.000 Cannabis L.

Wilmot-Dear, C.M. (1991) Cannabaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(6)

Description of the genus

Erect annual, aromatic, herbs, dioecious with male and female plants dimorphic, or rarely monoecious; indumentum of most parts consisting of minute appressed swollen-based hairs. Leaves alternate or opposite at the stem base, palmately lobed or digitately compound; leaflets uneven in size, with serrate margins; stipules lateral, persistent. Male inflorescences laxly cymose-paniculate, bristly-hairy, exceeding the leaves but bearing a few scattered leaves; flowers numerous, shortly pedicellate; perianth lobes free, boat-shaped, spreading or reflexed. Female inflorescences short, compact, not exceeding the leaves; flowers fewer, paired, each subtended by a stipule-like bract and a small green “bracteole” or “calyx” which completely envelopes the ovary and loosely encloses the mature fruit, this enveloping bracteole forming a basally swollen tubular sheath narrowly attenuate at the apex and covered with fine hairs and shortly-stalked or sessile, resinous glands; perianth membranous, undivided, tightly enveloping the ovary and mature fruit (often reduced or absent in cultivated forms), marbled with light and dark areas. Fruit a globular to ovoid achene tightly covered by the thin crustaceous perianth, the reticulate venation of the surface visible beneath the perianth. Embryo strongly curved, cotyledons fleshy. Easily identified by the light and dark patterning of the perianth layer (where this is present) surrounding the fruit.

Worldwide: 2 genera and c. 4 species in temperate parts of the northern hemisphere extending to SE Asia.

Zambia: 1 taxon.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsProvincesContent
sativa L.B,W,C,SDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Cannabis:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Cannabis
Flora of Burundi: Cannabis
Flora of Malawi: Cannabis
Flora of Mozambique: Cannabis
Flora of Zimbabwe: Cannabis
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Cannabis

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Cannabis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Cannabis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Cannabis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Cannabis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Cannabis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Cannabis
JSTOR Plant Science: Cannabis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Cannabis
Plants of the World Online: Cannabis
Tropicos: Cannabis
Wikipedia: Cannabis

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Cannabis.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=473, retrieved 7 December 2024

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