A PLANT FORM. A FAMILIAR LABEL.

Start with the plant.
Read beyond the name.

“Indica” can describe a traditional plant type, an ancestry claim or a category on a product menu. Those uses overlap, but they answer different questions. Leaf shape is visible; chemistry needs measurement.

01 / WHAT THE NAME MEANS

Botany and retail use different shorthand.

Cannabis indica is a historical botanical name. Kew’s Plants of the World Online treats it as a synonym of Cannabis sativa. On a retail menu, “indica” is usually a product category rather than a formal taxonomic identification.

Keep the label in context: a named cultivar, a breeder’s lineage claim and a batch test are different kinds of information.

02 / OBSERVABLE TRAITS

Broad leaves are a description.
They are not a lab result.

LEAF

Width & outline

The familiar indica image emphasizes broad leaflets. Describe the plant in front of you rather than treating a silhouette as proof of ancestry.

STRUCTURE

Height & branching

A compact plant is a useful observation. The word “indica” alone does not specify final height, spacing or flowering time.

FLOWER

Appearance & chemistry

Color, resin sparkle and flower density do not reveal THC or CBD concentration. Use a report tied to the actual batch for measured values.

03 / BEFORE PLANNING A GROW

Ask cultivar-specific questions.

  • Available spaceLook for documented height and branching under conditions similar to yours. A category name is not a room measurement.
  • Flowering behaviorCheck whether the seed line is photoperiod-sensitive or autoflowering, and what conditions any quoted timing assumes.
  • Plant healthDo not assume resistance to pests or mold from an indica label. The spider-mite guide covers inspection and identification.

For effects, use the sativa-versus-indica comparison to separate the familiar categories from chemical measurements and individual response.

04 / NAMED STRAIN GUIDES

Explore the names in more detail.

These guides collect individual strain names. Their inclusion here does not verify genetic identity, an exact indica percentage or a shared effect.

Browse all 52 named strain guides