How to differentiate between sativa and indica?

You will certainly have already heard the terms sativa and indica to qualify cannabis, but what are they and what do these words refer to? That's what we're going to look at here to help you understand how these parameters affect your cannabis.

Two big families

Cannabis indica and cannabis sativa are two great sets that refer to the origin of cannabis. These terms are relevant since depending on the origin of the cannabis it will not have the same characteristics.

Cannabis indica will be different in terms of culture, effect, taste and appearance compared to cannabis sativa, which makes it an interesting criterion to direct you to the most suitable cannabis for your use.

Sativa

Cannabis sativa is native to the southern hemisphere where it can even thrive naturally in areas that are lenient to it.

In terms of cultivation, cannabis sativa is a plant that has a fairly long life cycle. Indeed the most sativa varieties have a flowering time that can be around 16 weeks.

In addition, cannabis sativa plants are quite slender and grow more in height compared to indica plants. Some sativa strains can reach heights of 7 meters under favorable conditions.

This characteristic makes strongly sativa strains more recommended outdoors where they can enjoy unlimited height, unlike indoor cultivation which offers a smaller space. On the other hand, it is possible to practice pruning and training techniques to overcome this problem, but this will require more work from the grower.

In addition, cannabis sativa also differs in the effect it provides from cannabis indica because the latter has a more stimulating and euphoric effect compared to cannabis indica. It is a family of cannabis that is known to promote creativity and allows you to focus on a specific activity. Some sativas can even prevent the consumer from sleeping as the ideas fuse one after the other.

In addition, cannabis sativa generally has a more fruity and tropical taste than cannabis indica. It is a flavor particularly appreciated by consumers who seek the sweet and exotic notes more than the woody and peppery aspect of cannabis.

Indica

Cannabis indica is more suited to the northern hemisphere where its particular characteristics allow it to grow more easily.

In cultivation, cannabis indica has a much shorter life cycle than cannabis sativa. Its flowering time can extend to as little as 8 weeks with a strain with a strong indica dominance.

Indica strains also tend to spread less in height and are more short, dense bushes that prefer to grow evenly and robustly.

It is mainly for this reason that cannabis indica is recommended for indoor cultivation because it will allow the cultivation space to be used in an optimized way by occupying both the space in height and in width.

In addition, the effect of cannabis indica is more narcotic and soothing than cannabis sativa. It has a sometimes even boring effect which makes it easier to fall asleep. Consumers experience a more "stoned" and physical high with cannabis indica than cannabis sativa. It is a cannabis that is used medically to relieve pain and to help some patients fall asleep.

In addition, the flavor of cannabis indica also differs greatly from that of cannabis sativa with more spicy, earthy and woody notes reminiscent of the flavor of hashish.