Sativa, indica & hybrids
What the terms originally meant – and why they hardly predict effects.
“Sativa wakes you up, indica makes you sleepy” – you hear this all the time. But botanically and in everyday use the terms are used very differently. A genetic analysis of more than 100 cannabis samples found that the labels “sativa” and “indica” do not reflect genome-wide genetic relatedness but are most closely linked to a handful of aroma compounds (terpenes) (Watts et al., Nature Plants 2021).
Articles in this category
- Sativa, indica & hybrids – what the terms really meanonline
- Learning to read terpene profilesplanned
Flo’s View on This Category
In the grow tent you quickly see how right the genetic studies are: the label “Indica” or “Sativa” mainly tells you whether a plant grows compact and broad-leaved (BLD) or tall and narrow-leaved (NLD) and how much it stretches in early bloom. Its aroma and character, however, come down to its specific terpene and cannabinoid profile (chemovar) and trichome ripeness at harvest.