Cannabis sativa L. CANNABACEAE

Rainer W. Bussmann, Ketevan Batsatsashvili, Zaal Kikvidze, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, Manana Khutsishvili, Inesa Maisaia, Shalva Sikharulidze, and David Tchelidze

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
in K. Batsatsashvili et al. (eds.), Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Far Eastern Europe, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions,

doi : 10.1007/978-3-030-28940-9_33

Synonyms : Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis chinense Delile, Cannabis indica Lam, Cannabis sativa var. indica (Lam.) E. Small & Cronquist R.

Local Names : Georgian : კანაფი (k’anapi); ქან (qan) (Grossheim 1952; Ketskhoveli et al. 1971–2011; Makashvili 1991; Fedorov 1984); English : Cannabis

Botany and Ecology
Annual; stems 50–150 cm, covered with appressed hairs; leaves long petioled, with 3-5-7 elongated-lanceolate lobes, coarsely serrate; inflorescences in the axils of upper leaves, spreading, the staminate flowers in panicles, the pistillate in spikes; fruit a gray achene, not jointed at base, strongly adherent. Flowering June–July. Ural, Caucasus, Altai, along rivers, on steep cliffs, rocky slopes, near roads and settlements (Bobrov and Komarov 1936) (Figs. 1, 2, and 3).

Phytochemistry : Alkaloids (THC, cannabin, cannabinine), tannins, essential oils, vitamins (C), fatty
acids (Fedorov 1984).

Local Medicinal Uses : The leaf extract is used for skin diseases and scabies. The flower infusion was traditionally used for toothache (Fedorov 1984). Cannabis is widely used medicinally, e.g., in the Himalayas of Pakistan for constipation and dysentery, as sedative, for snakebites, as intoxicant, to kill lice, as diuretic and purgative, and for asthma (Umair et al. 2019).

Local Food Uses : The seeds are eaten in the Ural and Caucasus and are an ingredient for Svanetian salt (Bussmann et al. 2016a, b, c, 2018; Fedorov 1984).

Local Handicraft and Other Uses
The stem fibers are traditionally used to make ropes and sacks, packing, strings, nets, canvas, and lacework. Poisonous to horses and pigs (Fedorov 1984). The fibers are used to make rope (Bussmann et al. 2016a, b, c, 2018; Fedorov 1984).

References :
Bobrov EG, Komarov VL. Flora of the USSR. Volume 5: Dicotyledoneae, subclass I: archichlamydeae, order piperales-polygonales. Leningrad: Akademia Nauk; 1936 (English 1970). 593 pages, 49 b/w plates.

Bussmann RW, Paniagua Zambrana NY, Sikharulidze S, Kikvidze Z, Kikodze D, Tchelidze D, Khutsishvili M, Batsatsashvili K, Hart RE. A comparative ethnobotany of Khevsureti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tusheti, Svaneti, and Racha-Lechkhumi, Republic of Georgia (Sakartvelo), Caucasus. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2016a;12:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002- 016-0110-2.

Bussmann RW, Paniagua Zambrana NY, Sikharulidze S, Kikvidze Z, Kikodze D, Tchelidze D, Batsatsashvili K, Hart RE. Medicinal and food plants of Svaneti and Lechkhumi, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus. Med Aromat Plants. 2016b;5:266. https://doi.org/10.4172/ 2167-0412.1000266.

Bussmann RW, Paniagua Zambrana NY, Sikharulidze S, Kikvidze Z, Kikodze D, Tchelidze D, Khutsishvili M, Batsatsashvili K, Hart RE. Plant and fungal use in Tusheti, Khevsureti and Pshavi, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus. Acta Soc Bot Pol. 2016c;86(2):3517. https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp.3517.

Bussmann RW, Paniagua Zambrana NY, Sikharulidze S, Kikvidze Z, Kikodze D, Tchelidze D, Batsatsashvili K, Hart RE. Unequal brothers – plant and fungal use in Guria and Racha, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus. Indian J Tradit Knowl. 2018;17(1):7–33.

Fedorov AA, editor. Plant resources of the USSR: flowering plants, their chemical composition, use. Volume 1. Families Magnoliaceae– Limoniaceae. Leningrad: Akademia Nauk; 1984. 460 p. (in Russian).

Grossheim AA. Plant richness of the Caucasus. Moscow; 1952. (in Russian).

Ketskhoveli N., Kharadze A., Gagnidze R. Flora of Georgia, 16 vols. Tbilisi: Metsniereba; 1971–2011. (in Georgian).

Makashvili A. Botanical dictionary. Tbilisi: Metsniereba; 1991. (in Georgian).

Umair M, Altaf M, Bussmann RW, Abbasi AM. Ethnomedicinal uses of the local flora in Chenab riverine area, Punjab province Pakistan. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2019;15:7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-019-0285-4.

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