Cannabis sativa

Cannabis sativa is the plant species that, under U.S. terminology, includes both hemp and marijuana-type cannabis.

Botanically, the plant is a single species with wide variation in size, shape, and chemistry; what separates hemp from marijuana in the United States is not biology but a legal threshold of 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis. Plants at or below that line are hemp under federal law, and plants above it are regulated as marijuana. Cannabis sativa is the source of all phytocannabinoids, including CBD, and of the plant's terpenes and flavonoids.

Readers will see the species name on labels, in scientific papers, and in ingredient lists, sometimes written as Cannabis sativa L., where the L. credits the botanist Linnaeus. The older popular distinction between sativa and indica types is not a reliable guide to chemistry, and the term chemovar is used instead when composition matters. Plant parts such as seed oil contain very little cannabinoid content, which is a common point of confusion.