Cannabis sativa
Ecology
A dioecious annual occurring as a casual from a wide variety of sources, but never persisting. Lowland.
Status
Trends
C. sativa has been grown in gardens in Britain since at least 1304 (Thirsk, 1997) and was cultivated up to the 17th and 18th centuries as a fibre crop; there is a small resurgence now in that use. It is also a constituent of bird-seed mixtures, is used as bait by anglers and is cultivated, illegally and in small quantities, as a drug plant. It has been known in the wild since at least 1863.
World Distribution
Probably a native of S.W. & C. Asia, this species has been cultivated from ancient times and is now widely naturalised in warm temperate and tropical regions of the world.
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JNCC Designations
Atlas text references
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1976. A practical and natural taxonomy for Cannabis. Taxon. 25:405-435.
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1995. Evolution of crop plants, edn 2.
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2000. Domestication of plants in the Old World, edn 3.