Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the past, hemp has known both highs
and lows, and it is possible that, like the phoe-
nix from the ashes, it is now making a
comeback.
The topic will demonstrate and present
the history of this plant, while at the same time
fully acknowledging that this is not an exhaus-
tive account.
between types), a practical taxonomy is
currently in vogue by which varieties are classi-
fied by their chemical profile, a so-called
'chemotaxonomy' (Hillig, 2004, 2005). The
key to this taxonomy is the genetic presence of
alleles for the contrasting cannabinoids, tet-
rahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol
(CBD) (covered later). Drug varieties of
Cannabis overproduce THC, whereas 'indus-
trial' (meaning fibre and oil) varieties have very
little THC, and also much less of the resin that
bears it.
Whether high in THC and copious in resin
production, or low in THC with stems made to
yield a long, strong fibre, the Cannabis that is
found across the world bears the mark of the
ancient breeder. With the probable exception
of the degenerate 'ruderalis' type - which may
or may not be a vestige of the wild ancestor -
Cannabis of every type (no less than all our
other domesticated crops) has the traits sought
and enhanced by humans.
Out of this vast variation, our focus here is
on the 'sativa' types bred for something other
than their resin. Historically, that has meant
the stem (or 'bast') fibre. In recent times,
increasingly, varieties selected for the seed and
its nutritional profile are emerging, though tra-
ditionally the seed was a secondary product of
fibre production, used only in a few cultures of
Eastern Europe and Russia.
The naming conventions of western
botanical science aside, the trail of this plant
is found in local names, its centrality reflected
in the proliferation of appellations.
In France, names for local
Cannabis
varie-
ties are preserved in regional dialects:
2.2 The Various Forms of Cannabis
'Hemp? . . . Hemp did you say? What? As in
the stuff rope, string, bags and plumbing
oakum (or tow) is sometimes made of?' These
might be the answers volunteered in response
to a researcher posing questions about 'hemp'
to passers-by. If asked about 'cannabis', or
worse, 'marijuana', however, the same people
would be much more forthcoming for they
would have heard of this 'drug' and be able to
talk about it in one way or another.
Marijuana is not to be our subject, how-
ever, for there is within the genus
Cannabis
variation so great that botanists cannot stop
arguing about whether to make a separate
species (Small, 1979). Thus, one often finds
sources that allocate the drug types of cannabis
to the species
Cannabis indica
, and the others -
including what we are today calling 'industrial
hemp' (though formerly just 'hemp') - to the
species
C. sativa
('sativa' being the specific
applied to plants commonly found in agricul-
ture, L., 'cultivated'). That division has now
been rejected.
In 1753, Carl von Linn
was the first to
classify
Cannabis
using his new system of bino-
mial nomenclature. Since that time, the genus
has been placed in Moraceae (Mulberry), then
Urticaceae (nettles), before graduating to its
own family, Cannabaceae, which it now shares
with
Humulus
(hops) and, just recently,
Celtis
(hackberry). Botanists may revisit these associ-
ations yet again once modern DNA-based tools
are applied, so it may be wise to regard them
merely as suggestions.
Clarke (1999) has reviewed the current
view of the species-level classification: three
different systems each with its adherents. Since
all Cannabis is interfertile (i.e. there is no
'species barrier' or sexual incompatibility
ĕ
•
Aube et Haute Saône:
cheneville
•
Berry:
chaude
Bresse:
•
chenève
•
Forez:
chinève
Franche-Comté:
•
chenove
•
Languedoc:
carbe
, etc.
•
Limousin:
chanabal
Mâconnais:
•
chernière
•
Meuse:
chenevoux
Normandy:
•
cambre
•
Picardy:
canve
•
Poitou:
chenebeau
Provence:
•
cannabal
,
cannebière
Région toulousaine:
•
carbenal
