Glossary · Plant types
Indica
A loose marketing label for cannabis varieties popularly associated with heavy, body-centered, sedating effects. Botanically the indica/sativa split is shaky, but dispensaries still use it as shorthand for "relaxing, nighttime" flower. In practice the terpene and cannabinoid profile predicts effects far better than this category.
See also
Indica strains in our library
11 of the 47 strains we profile.
Read more about indica
Related terms, defined
- Hybrid
- A cannabis variety bred from both indica and sativa lineage, which today describes nearly every strain on the market. Hybrids are often described as indica-dominant or sativa-dominant depending on which traits lead. Because pure landraces are rare, "hybrid" is the honest default label for most modern flower.
- Strain
- The common word for a named cannabis variety, such as Blue Dream or OG Kush. Each strain represents a particular genetic line with a recognizable aroma, effect profile, and look. Botanists prefer "cultivar," but "strain" is the term used on every menu and label in the industry.
- Phenotype
- The observable traits a cannabis plant actually expresses — its height, color, aroma, and effect — shaped by both genetics and growing conditions. Growers "pheno-hunt" through many seeds of one strain to find the standout plant. Two seeds of the same strain can produce noticeably different phenotypes.
- Sativa-dominant
- A hybrid whose effects, structure, and growth habit lean toward the sativa side of its lineage, typically meaning a more energetic, heady experience. The term acknowledges that almost all strains are hybrids while still flagging which direction a given cultivar tends to pull for most users.
Related terms