put into tight compartments. This simple and _ basic 
truth, usually not appreciated by non-scientists and 
sometimes overlooked by zealous taxonomists, should 
be borne in mind much more strongly for groups such as 
Cannabis, where an historical perspective is imperative. 
oo Ill 
In view of the excessively confused taxonomic picture 
of Cannabis that at present confounds botanical, chemi- 
cal, legal and other considerations, a review of the specific 
history of the genus may be illuminating. 
The history of Cannabis in modern taxonomic litera- 
ture began in 1737, when Linnaeus established the genus 
Cannabis, basing it on pre-Linnaean concepts. 
The name Cannabis (Greek Kdvvabis, Kannabis) is a 
very ancient classical vernacular name for hemp, with 
which the English word hemp itself, derived from the 
Anglo-Saxon haenep and the presumed Old Teutonic 
parental form hanapiz, are cognate; and, according to 
Laufer (11), “‘is presumably a loan word pointing to 
Finno-Ugrian and Turkish’’, ancient languages of central 
Asia. Indeed, the principal difference between the Teu- 
tonic and the Graeco- Latin forms is due to the Gothonic 
consonant shift—Greek preserving the consonant / of an 
earlier Indo-European language which became / some 
five centuries or so B.C. in the primitive Teutonic lan- 
guages. Thus, etymology accords with other evidence in 
indicating central Asia as the area whence plants of 
Cannabis spread outwards, mainly eastward, westward 
and to the south. 
The binomial Cannabis sattva_was published by Lin- 
naeus in Species Plantarum in 17538, the internationally 
accepted starting point for modern botanical binomial 
nomenclature. Cannabis sativa hearkens back to pre- 
Linnaean literature. 
Under Cannabis sativa, Linnaeus referred to several 
i 845 J 
