Cannabis sativa L. is the botanical name for cannabis: one species in the family Cannabaceae, alongside hops (Humulus). The "L." is the author citation for Carl Linnaeus, who published the name in 1753. Most current taxonomists treat all cultivated and wild cannabis, hemp and drug-type alike, as this one species, with variation expressed as subspecies, varieties or simply phenotypes.
In practice
Growers use "sativa" in two senses, and that causes endless muddle. Botanically, every plant in your tent is Cannabis sativa. In shop talk, "sativa" means a tall, narrow-leaflet, long-flowering plant. A breeder writing a GB-ID record should use the species name for the species and describe shape plainly ("narrow leaflets, 11-week flower") rather than lean on the label.
The species is normally dioecious (separate male and female plants), wind-pollinated, an annual, and with an XY sex-chromosome system (2n = 20).
Don't confuse with
- "Sativa" (shop label): a plant-shape description, not a species.
- Ruderalis: a name for wild, day-neutral northern populations, not a separate species in the house view.
- Hemp: a use and legal category within the same species.
Myth check
"Indica, sativa and ruderalis are three species" is not the consensus. GenetixBay's position (Established, one-species taxonomy): one species, many phenotypes, and nearly everything grown today is a hybrid. Indica/sativa describes plant shape at most and does not predict effects. See indica, sativa, ruderalis and Mythbusters.
