A classification of endangered high-THC cannabis (Cannabis sativa subsp. indica) domesticates and their wild relatives Author McPartland, John M. College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 05405 USA & GW Pharmaceuticals, Sovereign House, Histon, Cambridge, CB 24 9 BZ, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3385-2827 mcpruitt@myfairpoint.net Author Small, Ernest Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saunders Building, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario K 1 A 0 C 6, Canada text PhytoKeys 2020 144 81 112 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.144.46700 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.144.46700 1314-2003-144-81 B3D8E8B6CF515155A212E307E6A41405 Cannabis sativa subsp. indica var. indica (Lam.) Persoon, Synopsis Plantarum 2: 618, 1807. Figure 4a Cannabis indica Lamarck, Encyclopedie Methodique 1(2): 694-695, 1785 Basionym. See McPartland (1992) for justification of citing Persoon as the authority in the comb. nov, not Wehmer as treated in Small and Cronquist (1976) . ≡ C. sativa var. indica (Lam.) Fristedt, Upsala Laekarefoerenings Foerhandlingar 5: 504, 1869-1870. ≡ C. sativa f. indica (Lam.) Voss in Siebert & Voss, Vilmorin's Blumengaertnerei 1: 912, 1896. ≡ C. sativa var. indica (Lam.) Wehmer, Die Pflanzenstoffe p. 248, 1911. = C. sativa var. indica Blume, Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indie , p. 515, 1825. = C. macrosperma Stokes, Botanical Materia Medica 4: 539, 1812. ≡ C. sativa B macrosperma (Stokes) Ascherson & Graebner, Synopsis Mitteleuropaeischen Flora 4: 599, 1911. ≡ C. sativa var. macrosperma (Stokes) Chevalier, Revue de Botanique Appliquee et d'Agriculture Coloniale 24: 64, 1944. = C. sativa γ crispata Hasskarl, Neuer Schluessel zu Rumph's Herbarium amboinense p. 112, 1886. = C. sativa β vulgaris de Candolle, Prodromus 16(1):31, 1869 (en part, based on plants cultivated in India). = C. americana Houghton & Hamilton, Proc. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 55: 445, 1907, nomen nudum. ≡ C. americana Wehmer, Die Pflanzenstoffe, 2: 157, 1911, nomen nudum. = C. madagascar Pearson, Proc. Penna. Pharm. Assoc. 1909: 179, 1909, nomen nudum. = C. africana Glickman, Mulford's Veterinary Bulletin 4(2): 88, 1912, nomen nudum. ≡ C. sativa var. africana Wehmer, Die Pflanzenstoffe 2: 39, 1935. = C. mexicana Stanley, Am. J. Police Science 2(3): 252, 1931, nomen nudum. Holotype. India, likely Pondicherry, Lamarck , no date, annotated "Chanvre rapporte de l'Inde par M. Sonnerat" (herb. P). Most of Pierre Sonnerat's herbarium specimens at herb. P were collected around Pondicherry between 1775 and 1778. Diagnosis. Plants with THC% ≥0.3% in inflorescence and a THC/CBD ratio always ≥7, often much more; central leaflet length:width ratio ≥6 in fan leaves near the base of inflorescences; mature achenes usually ≥ 3.6 mm long, the perianth mostly sloughed off, lacking a prominent protuberant base, and lacking a well-developed abscission zone that allows easy disarticulation. Morphology. Plants usually>2.0 m tall (shorter in inhospitable situations). Central stem (stalk) internodes relatively long (often>12 cm, shorter in shorter plants), somewhat hollow (up to 1/3 stem diameter). Branches flexible, diverging from the stalk at relatively acute angles (around 45°). Leaf palmately compound, largest leaves typically with at least 7 leaflets, leaflet edges not overlapping. Central leaflet long and narrow, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate in shape; margins with moderately coarse serrations, and rare secondary serrations. Female inflorescence (and infructescence) elongated and somewhat diffuse, with relatively obscure sugar leaves (a high perigonal bract-to-leaf index). Sugar leaves with CSGTs limited to the proximal half. Perigonal bract covered with a moderate density of CSGTs. Perianth membranous, hyaline with pigmented areas (brown and mottled or marbled in appearance); mostly sloughed off but sometimes persistent. Achene, usually ≥ 3.6 mm long, globose to elongate, exocarp green-brown; abscission zone poorly developed. Phytochemistry. Dried female inflorescences: THC ≥0.3%, in late 20th century accessions, nearly always>1.0%; literature weighted x¯ = 3.97%, up to 12.5%. THC/CBD ratio ≥7, and often>100. THCV is commonly present, especially in landraces from South Asia and Africa. Hillig and Mahlberg (2004) report THCV+CBDV% content x¯ = 0.25%. Terpenoid profile often imparts an "herbal" or "sweet" aroma, with terpinolene, β -caryophyllene, trans- β -farnesene, and a -guaiene content significantly higher than Central Asian plants. Genetics. Landraces of South Asian heritage segregated from Central Asian landraces in an allozyme analysis ( Hillig 2005a ) and cpDNA haplotype study ( Gilmore et al. 2007 ). "Sativa" and "Indica" were segregated with STR loci ( Knight et al. 2010 ), RAPD markers ( Piluzza et al. 2013 ), and nDNA SNP haplotypes ( Henry 2015 ; Lynch et al. 2016 ). Other studies showed little or no genetic differences between "Sativa" and "Indica" ( Sawler et al. 2015 ; Dufresnes et al. 2017 ), or their phenotypes matched poorly with their purported genotypes ( Schwabe and McGlaughlin 2018 ). Other characters. Generally late maturing; monoecious plants relatively common compared to the other varieties; susceptible to black mildew caused by Schiffnerula cannabis . Provenance and uses. Originally cultivated in India for ganja , and spread at an early date to southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Figure 4. Two varieties of C. sativa subsp. indica from South Asia. On left a var. indica . On right b var. himalayensis .