Indica marijuana has a long history of usage, even before the 70s or the 1900s. The relaxant inducing strain has been enriching the lives of people for many years. Its usage reaches farther back during 500 B.C. by the Chinese.
What are the important points in history that result in a wide range of cannabis indica seeds for sale at a seed bank? Where did indica plants come from before they became popular around the world? We will answer these questions by diving into the rich history of indica marijuana.
A brief look at the history of cannabis
Before people were harvesting cannabis plants for its buds, they were cultivated for their fibrous hemp. The earliest use of hemp was in 10,000 B.C. China when archeologists found hemp rope imprints on pottery from this time. The Chinese even utilize hemp for creating the most important invention in history: paper.
The earliest recording that indicates the use of cannabis was in 2,737 B.C. Shen Nung, the Chinese Emperor, wrote about the psychoactive properties of the herb. He said that the herb was for treating gout, rheumatism, and even absent-mindedness. Moving forward to 500 B.C. the Chinese also utilize the strain as an incense and inhale the smoke. Other historical cultures became familiar with the psychoactive component of cannabis. Evidence that helps to prove this claim comes from the burned marijuana seeds within the graves of Siberian shamans.
Indian worshipers also use cannabis for its psychoactive trait around 2,000 B.C. According to the Hindu text Vedas, marijuana plants was one of five sacred plants that have an angel living with its foliage. The text indicates that marijuana can make partakers blissful and liberated. India was also responsible for the creation of the first edible marijuana, Bhang. Bhang is a beverage that has cannabis, milk, nuts, and spices. Hindus still continue to drink this Beverage during their religious ceremonies.
Cannabis plants only grew in Central Asia throughout the majority of the A.D. period. It was until 1500 A.D. when the Spanish bought the plant to the Americas and its colonies. Much like the Chinese, the hemp fiber was a versatile material in making rope, paper, and much more.
The classification of the indica strains came from Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785, a French biologist who also fought during the Pomeranian war. Previously, Carl Linnaeus identified the first species of cannabis as Cannabis sativa. Lamarck aims to make the second species distinguishable from the first one by describing the second species as Cannabis indica.
It will still take until the 1800s when people utilize cannabis buds for medical purposes. This is thanks to William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish medical researcher, and physician. He discovered the medicinal use of cannabis for gastrointestinal pain and cholera. Marijuana extracts became widespread across the western countries during the late 1800s.
Indica plant origins
Pure indica plants are different from pure sativa ones when it comes to their plant structure. Indica plants tend to grow short and bushy during the vegetative phase. Its leaves grow together with barely any gap between them. On the other hand, sativa plants tend to grow tall with a pine tree-like shape. Their leaves grow apart from each other that there is a visible gap among them.
The unique plant traits of an indica strain come from its place of origins within the northern and southern hemisphere. The area is at the mercy of the summer solstice light schedule. Indica plants can only thrive or grow during the summer period when the daylight is around 15 hours per day. When summer ends and daylight hours shrink to only 12 hours a day, indica plants enter the flowering phase. Indica plants enter the last phase of its life at the end of September as it bears its buds.
On the other hand, sativa plants come from countries that are near or within the equator. These countries have a consistent light schedule of 12 hours daylight and 12 hours darkness. This allows sativa plants to thrive at any time of the year.
Formation of indica strain’s unique traits
The origins of the strain only explain the general plant characteristics of an indica plant. However, it does not explain why some cannabis indica seeds for sale have a much shorter flowering time than other seeds. It also does not show how one strain has the aroma of berries while another has the dank smell of skunk.
Indica strain’s traits come from the conditions of where the plants come from. It is important to note that the soil, water, climate, and surrounding is different around the world. Imagine separating twins and make them grow in two different living conditions. One may turn into blue-collar worker while the other may become an educator at a university. The difference in growth experience has a significant influence on the outcome of the two twin’s adulthood despite being similar at birth.
If an indica plant grows in an area that is abundant with a specific type of nutrient due to the surrounding fauna and flora, it may produce buds with a pine aroma. On the other hand, strains with a quick flowering period may come from a region with less sunlight than normal.
Over the years, the pure indica plants were bred with sativa plants to create hybrids that harbor the favorable traits of the two strains. This led to the creation of autoflowering seeds that has a short growth span and feminized seeds that nearly guarantees a female plant will sprout from their shell.
Conclusion
Cannabis and history are always an interesting read for anyone. The stark contrast of cannabis acceptance from today to decades ago as well as millennia ago can be a revelation to a pothead.
As you can also see from our past, cannabis has been a natural treatment for different ailments. It is also one of the least dangerous alternative treatment available. There is still some negative perception of cannabis. As Lester Grinspoon has said, “I am convinced that there are genuine and valid levels of perception available with cannabis (and probably with other drugs) which are, through the defects of our society and our educational system, un-available to us without such drugs.” Fortunately, the benefits of marijuana are becoming widespread with many turning their opinion on the herb into a positive one.
