Dagga
on 19th December 2012
As green as "grass". Next to river. Growing together with "black jacks".
Other observations of Weed (Cannabis sativa var. indica)
Comments
Fungus??
I'm sure this is a plant!
Cannabis sativa var. sativa
Half a plant!
and please do the species and subspecies as well!
Whether this is a plant or a fungus depends on how you use it!
group mouldurated!
Locality: I see that you are taking no chances that anyone will find your stash!!!! 110km census on locality? You must be paranoid!
You obviously need a zol.
(seriously: please refine it a little)
Cannabis taxonomy
"The inherent variation within this genus has, by artificial selection (for production of fibre, oil or intoxicating resin) followed by naturalisation, crossbreeding and recombination of characters, given rise to a reticulate pattern of variation where, primarily in the female plants, several extreme forms exist, but where a continuous range of intermediates is also present. Variation in male plants is far less extreme. However, while it may be possible to recognise different groups within the female plants it remains difficult or impossible to assign male plants to such groupings, and for this reason the genus is best considered as comprising a single variable species" (Wilmot-Dear, C.M. 1991. Cannabaceae. In Flora Zambesiaca 9,6: 10-13).
In southern Africa (based on Small, E. & Cronquist, A. 1976. A practical and natural taxonomy for Cannabis. Taxon 25(4): 405–435):
- C. sativa var. sativa: domesticated fibre and oil cultivars (weakly intoxicant)
- C. sativa var. indica: domesticated narcotic cultivars (strongly intoxicant)
- C. sativa var. spontanea: naturalised variety of fibre and oil cultivars (weakly intoxicant)
Not Fungi!
Didnt say its a fungus! I meant it grew where fungi usually grow! Dark shady spot.
Groups
It originally came up under the Fungi group instead of Plants - I think the site administrator moved it into the Plants group yesterday.
Understand now, thanks! maybe
Understand now, thanks! maybe 'cause I'm so use to submitting fungi, I had some finger-trouble!
I'm just round the corner..
and given the degree of shade the locality can be narrowed down considerably.
What a hoot!
Never find it!
You'll never guess the spot! I found it by accident.
This is 'pre-dagga'.
I waiting for an observation showing big juicy heads covered in baard.
Riaan's ID notes
I agree with you Riaan, all cultivated cannabis would be var. indica, but this ain't cultivated. So I'm not so sure one can select a var.
would be?
'would be', or did you mean "should be"?
-- Beetledude
:)
Should be and therefore would be (the likely ID).
Mind you the wikipedia page on cannabis talks about var sativa and var indica having different effects, so it would seem to depend on what high one is after. And anyway the serious cultivators create powerful hybrids that blow one's socks off, (or so I've heard)
Is Cannabis sativa an indigenous South African plant?
I am curious as to how cannabis' presence in Southern Africa is defined given that the plant has been growing here for so long that there are even regional 'subspecies' of the plant which are genetically very different to those found anywhere else on the planet.
Could one refer to it as an indigenous plant of South Africa?
I know it was supposedly introduced to Africa from Asia many centuries ago. So it was at one point naturalised. How long does a plant have to have been present in a country before it can be considered indigenous?
aliens
The baseline is generally given as 1654.
Before that plants are not likely to have spread much in the region, the exception being Indian and Asian trade.
The reality is about pre 1800. Before that we have no chance in hell of knowing if it was introduced beforehand, spread with man, or invaded on its own. So blame Linneaus: he sent out his disciples to record what was where - unless the plants were documented as aliens by the company, we will probably never know. Although the odds are than any European plant known from the Cape or Durban or Maputo are likely to be alien.
The issue of grown plants having cultivars is more of a problem. Odd freaks, sports and mutants can be rapidly selected for and spread by popular demand, or to local growing conditions, so that "subspecies" (i.e. plants grown locally only) may rapidly appear.
The bottom line is that to be indigenous the plant has to occur there (wherever) naturally. It has to have spread there by itself, or by nature.
If spread by humans it will always be alien or naturalized. Some will be invasive or transformers. Some will be brought under biocontrol (by man or nature) and cease to be a problem and an non-disruptive integrated member of the local ecosystems. But they will forever be aliens - until the records and knowledge is lost anyway.
So yes a Eurocentric-based answer, but one grounded in scientific methods and systematic documentation. We can speculate and work out what other plants and animals might have been spread by Arabic trade (Castor Oil being another), but much will always remain speculative given inadequate data and documentation.
Appreciated
Wow, great feedback thank you Tony! It is a question that has bothered me for a while, but besides speculation on my part I have never been able to come even close to getting a proper answer until now.
inappropriate
click the report as inappropriate: the observation is instantaneously hidden and queued for moderation.
So even if I miss your notes, I get an email about it immediately!
I usually simply ban the user: that closes the account and they cannot add more from the same username or email address (rather meaningless: these are once off emails anyway).
For some reason (documentation?), iSpot keeps the comments even though no one can access them.
Deep in the jungle where I
Deep in the jungle where I expect only mushroom to grow.... I found... the expected!
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