Hemp

Family Cannabaceae. A herbaceous dioecious annual plant reaching 2–3 m in height.

Female plants are usually taller and more developed than male ones. Hemp leaves are petiolate, palmate-divided into 5–7 lobes, radiating from a common center; individual lobes are elongate-lanceolate, serrate-toothed. The plant blooms in the summer months. Male plants, commonly called "poskonnaya hemp" in practice, finish flowering and ripen several weeks earlier. Female plants, called "materka" (mother plants), are taller and ripen later. Male flowers are gathered in rich, compound paniculate inflorescences, have five white perianth segments and five pendulous stamens. Female flowers are small, seated in the leaf axils, with a cup-shaped perianth of one segment that envelops the single ovary with its ovule. The fruits are achenes, hidden in a husk formed from a special hardened bract.

Location: fairly drought-resistant and light-loving, but can also grow in shaded sites.

Soil: to reach maximum height and appear most decorative, they require nutrient-rich soil.

Propagation of hemp: by seeds. They are sown indoors in March–April or outdoors in April–May.

Uses of hemp: these are very attractive plants with sturdy stems and palmate leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous, but by their scent attract many insects. In autumn grain-eating birds enjoy the round seeds: greenfinches, chaffinches, goldfinches, siskins, as well as tits.

From the tops of hemp shoots the drug marijuana, or hashish, is obtained. This plant is also used to make hemp fiber and paper. Hemp plantings serve as excellent windbreak screens.