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PL THE PLANT
Cannabis is one plant with an unusually rich chemistry and a long human history, and it makes the cannabinoids and terpenes people use it for. Everything starts with the plant. These pages cover what the plant is, how it is built, how it makes the compounds people use it for, and where it came from. It is the foundation the rest of the encyclopedia builds on, from cannabinoids and terpenes to strains and recipes.
Start here
What cannabis is, and how a single plant is put together.
Chemistry inside the plant
Where the active compounds are actually made, and how.
Life and sex
How a plant grows from seed to harvest, and why sex matters.
Genetics and origins
Where the diversity of cannabis comes from.
Classification and growing
The hemp line, and the basics of growing the plant yourself.
Continue exploring
Cannabaceae Evolution, East Asian Domestication, and Secondary Metabolism
Phylogenomic analyses place Cannabis sativa L. within the family Cannabaceae alongside its closest living sister genus, Humulus (hops), from which it diverged roughly 20 to 27 million years ago (Andre et al., 2016, PubMed PMID 26869959). Whole-genome resequencing of 110 landraces, feral populations, and historic accessions indicates that humans first domesticated Cannabis in East Asia during the early Neolithic (~12,000 years ago) from a single ancestral gene pool before selecting divergent lineages for bast fiber and seed oil versus high-resin cannabinoid production (Ren et al., 2021, Science Advances, PubMed PMID 34272249; Small, 2015, DOI 10.1007/s12229-015-9157-3).
Frequently Asked Questions
What plant family does cannabis belong to?
Cannabis sativa belongs to the family Cannabaceae, which also includes Humulus lupulus (common hops) and hackberries (Celtis).
Why does raw cannabis flower contain THCA and CBDA rather than active THC and CBD?
Inside living glandular trichomes, enzymatic synthases convert cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) into acidic cannabinoids (THCA and CBDA). Heat or prolonged UV light is required to cleave the carboxyl group (decarboxylation) into neutral THC and CBD.
Are hemp and marijuana different botanical species?
No. Both fiber/seed hemp and high-resin drug cultivars belong to the single biological species Cannabis sativa L.; they differ in human-selected alleles at the THCAS and CBDAS synthase loci and in statutory THC thresholds.
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