# Indica

> Indica is a popular label for broad-leaflet, compact, faster-flowering cannabis plants; it describes plant shape at most, not a separate species or a predictable effect.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/indica.html
- Also written: Cannabis indica, C. indica, indica-dominant, indicas, broad-leaf
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

"Indica" is used for cannabis plants with broad [leaflets](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/leaflet.md), short stature, dense structure and relatively quick flowering. Historically some botanists named a separate species, *Cannabis indica*, and modern taxonomists still debate subspecies names. The current consensus treats cannabis as one species, *[Cannabis sativa](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabis-sativa.md)* L. (McPartland 2018; Small 2015).

## In practice

On a label, "indica" is meant to promise relaxing, body-heavy effects. The evidence does not support that. Genetic studies show indica/sativa labels match measured ancestry poorly (Sawler et al. 2015), and chemical studies show labels do not predict [cannabinoid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabinoid.md) or [terpene profiles](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/terpene-profile.md) (Smith et al. 2022; Watts et al. 2021).

Almost everything sold today is a hybrid, with a few outlier [landraces](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md). Use the word, if at all, to describe shape: broad leaflets, compact build, shorter flowering. For effects, look at the lab profile and grow reports.

## Don't confuse with

- **Afghan or Hindu Kush landraces**: real traditional populations often described as indica; the label is a later Western shorthand.
- **Chemotype**: the chemical class, which an indica label does not predict.

## Myth check

House position: indica versus sativa is nonsense as a guide to effects or species. It is one species showing different [phenotypes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phenotype.md). See [indica, sativa and ruderalis](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/indica-sativa-ruderalis.md) and [Mythbusters](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/mythbusters.md).

## Related terms

[Sativa](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sativa.md), [Hybrid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hybrid.md), [Phenotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phenotype.md), [Landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md), [Chemovar](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chemovar.md)

## Read more

- [Indica, sativa and ruderalis: what the names really mean](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/indica-sativa-ruderalis.md)

## Sources

1. McPartland JM. 2018. Cannabis systematics at the levels of family, genus, and species. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 3(1):203-212. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2018.0039
2. Sawler J, Stout JM, Gardner KM, et al. 2015. The genetic structure of marijuana and hemp. PLoS ONE 10(8):e0133292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133292
3. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. 2022. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLOS ONE 17(5):e0267498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267498