N. 0. URTIOACE^. 1181 



Leaves 3-4in. diam., petioled, cordate, toothed, upper ovate, 

 lower 3-5-lobed. Bracts and bracteoles scarious, covered with 

 resinous glands. Male flowers :— Jin. diam. ; panicles 3-5in. 

 across. Female flowers :— In heads, £in. diam., yellow ; styles 

 purple ; fruiting l^in. diam. ; scales orbicular. 



Uses : — It is officinal in both the British and Indian Pharma- 

 copoeias. 



1170. Cannabis sativa, Linn., h.f.b.l, v. 487; 

 Roxb. 718. 



Syn. : — C. indica, Lamk. 



Bug. -. — Indian hemp. 



Sans. : — Ganja, vajradrn, bhangah, vijaya. 



Vern. : — Ganje-ka-per, kinnab, bhang (H.) ; ganja, bhang, 

 siddhi (B.) ; Bhang, charas (Pb.) ; Bhang (Mar.) ; Ganja-uhed, 

 korkkar-muli, ganja-ilai, kalpam (Tarn.") ; Ganjari-chettu, bangi- 

 aku, kalpam-chettu, ganjah (Tel.) ; Tsjerucansjava, kanchava- 

 chetti (Mai.). 



Habitat : — Throughout India, wild in the N.-W. Himalaya, 

 cultivated elsewhere. 



A tall, erect, annual herb. Stem 4-8ft., Leaves alternate 

 or the lower opposite, upper 1-3-lower 5-11-partite, serrate, 

 palmati-nerved, 4-8in. diam. Stipules lateral. Flowers green, 

 small, axillary, dioecious ; males fascicled in short, pendul- 

 ous panicles. Female flowers crowded under leafy convolute 

 bracts. Male flowers : — Sepals 5, imbricate, stamens 5, erect in 

 bud. Pistillode 0. Female flowers : — Perianth hyaline, embracing 

 the ovary or 0. Ovary sessile ; style central ; arms 2, filiform, 

 caducous ; ovule pendulous. Achene compressed, crustaceous. 

 Seed flattened, albumen unilateral, fleshy. Embryo curved, 

 cotyledons broad, thick, sub-equal, radicle upcurved incumbent. 



Uses : —Officinal in the Indian as well as British Pharmaco- 

 poeias, and its uses are too well-known to be detailed here. 



It should be used fresh. It deteriorates on keeping. Hence 

 those imported from Europe not efficacious, and so, the neces- 

 sity of making its preparations in India. 



Hemp seeds yield from 25 to 30 per cent, of a light green or greenish- 

 yellow oil becoming brownish-yellow on keeping. The specific gravity is 



