The differences in growth habit are extraordinary. It 
is true that, in some localities, cultivated and escaped 
hemp may be of hybrid origin and/or, in strongly un- 
‘favourable habitats, may show some intergradation or 
ecotypical adaptation away from the norm. 
These differences in growth habit we believe to be 
deeply significant. We have ascertained from our collec- 
tions and studies in the extensive Mississippi plantation 
and elsewhere that the characters of growth habit seem 
to be genetically stable and are not obliterated by edaphic 
or environmental conditions. Cannabis sativa tends to 
be a tall—sometimes an extremely tall—very loosely 
branched plant, with the branches distant from one 
another; the habit of this species can perhaps best be de- 
scribed by the popular term gangling. What we con- 
sider to represent Cannabis indica, on the other hand, is 
usually a low, conical or pyramidal plant, normally three 
to four feet tall, very densely branched, with the branches 
extraordinarily close one to the other. Lamarck, in de- 
scribing Cannabis indica, noted that it differed from C. 
sativa in its smaller stature and its more profuse branch- 
ing. Cannabis ruderalis is reported to be very small, 
normally up to two feet in height, often only slightly 
branched or even unbranched at maturity. 
We believe also that we can discern a general tendency 
in leaf variation, although, asin many plants, this charac- 
ter is far from being a conservative one. Furthermore, 
sufficient comparative studies have not been carried out 
for the full extent of the reliability of this character to be 
utilized. We would, however, indicate that the leaflets 
of Cannabis sativa appear, in the main, to be very nar- 
rowly linear-lanceolate, with fine and very sharp serra- 
tions. Cannabis indica, on the other hand, appears 
generally to have somewhat broader leaflets in relation 
to their length and to have somewhat coarser serrations 
[ 356 ] 
