Exsist 3 main types of cannabis: Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis.

Originally cannabis was classed by biologists as just Cannabis Sativa L. However, today’s cannabis researcher has seen this classification further divide into three main species of cannabis that occur naturally in the wild. These are Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis ruderalis.

Most growers generally accept that these three species can be obtained in pure form. Each specific type can be obtained without another species’ influence. We must remember that historically the different species would have stemmed from the same line; however, evolution and diversity have caused these three species types to develop separately around the globe.

Normally in biology, two different species should not be able to crossbreed. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. Cannabis researchers and growers see the cannabis species as an exception to the rule. It is for this reason that cannabis breeders also classify their strains according to each of these specific types even though mainstream botany science has only one classification for the cannabis species—Cannabis Sativa

Each type of cannabis is unique

Each of these cannabis species is very unique in appearance and growth. They are also very unique in most of their properties including the high type. Each of the species types has a subset of strains that are classed as either a pure species type or a mix of the species. Due to hybridization, the subset of each species looks like this:

Species subtest types:

Pure Indica A pure Indica species that are either derived
directly from a landrace Indica or is mixed with other pure Indica strains.
Pure Sativa A pure Sativa species that are either derived
directly from a landrace Sativa or is mixed with other pure Sativa strains.
Pure Ruderalis A pure Ruderalis species that are either
derived directly from a landrace Ruderalis or is mixed with other pure Ruderalis strains.
Mostly Indica A mix of Indica and Sativa strains that
incline towards Indica characteristics.

Mostly Sativa A mix of Sativa and Indica strains that
incline towards Sativa characteristics.

Mostly Ruderalis

A mix of Ruderalis with either Indica or Sativa strains that incline towards Ruderalis characteristics.

Indica/Sativa A strain that displays equal amounts of
Indica and Sativa characteristics.

Indica/Ruderalis A strain that displays equal amounts of
Indica and Ruderalis characteristics.

Sativa/Ruderalis A strain that displays equal amounts of
Sativa and Ruderalis characteristics.

Indica/Sativa/ Ruderalis

A strain that displays equal amounts of Indica, Sativa, and Ruderalis characteristics.

Ruderalis is rarely used by cannabis breeders

Cannabis ruderalis is not very popular with growers because of its auto-flowering properties. This means that the species does not flower according to the photoperiod but flowers according to age and maturity. Growers like to control the flowering properties of their plants and so breeders rarely ever use Ruderalis in breeding projects and seed banks rarely ever stock Ruderalis genetics.

It is for this reason that Indica and Sativa strains are not mixed with Ruderalis. It is now very rare to find Ruderalis strains sold by seed banks because of the strains’ unpopularity among cultivators. This means that there are genuinely only five types of cannabis species subsets being produced by breeders. These are Pure Indica, Pure Sativa, Mostly Indica, Mostly Sativa, and Indica/Sativa varieties.