Cannabis sativa
Enable an AI agent to recognise Cannabis sativa, assess a plant's identity, development, condition and measured chemistry, and determine which actions require further evidence or authorization.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise Cannabis sativa, assess a plant's identity, development, condition and measured chemistry, and determine which actions require further evidence or authorization.
Cannabis sativa is an annual, typically dioecious flowering plant of family Cannabaceae whose cultivated and feral forms are distinguished in practice by chemistry (THC/CBD), use (fibre, seed, drug) and, in some taxonomic treatments, by subspecies or cultivar groups rather than by a single morphological species concept.
It can be Document diagnostic organs and request botanical confirmation when identity remains uncertain; Track development, sex expression and reproductive activity through dated observations; Compare organ-specific condition over time and request diagnostic examination for unexplained damage; Associate an authorized tissue sample and laboratory result with the exact plant and organ sampled; Assess whether proposed handling or transfer requires reproductive containment, further testing or external authorization; Link detached material to a separate sample or product record while preserving its source-plant provenance.
Distinguishing features
Inspect whether mature leaves consist of separate, serrated leaflets radiating from one attachment, rather than a single deeply lobed blade; record juvenile or reduced upper leaves separately. [Flora of China](https://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=105522)
Use erect herbaceous habit together with palmately compound leaves and petiole characters to distinguish Cannabis from the related Humulus; a leaf silhouette alone is insufficient. [Flora of North America](https://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10154)
Check leaf arrangement at several stem positions: lower leaves can be opposite while upper leaves are alternate, so one isolated node is a weak identification test. [Flora of Pakistan](https://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=105522)
Require a botanical determination tied to a named taxonomic treatment when interpreting labels such as 'sativa' or 'indica'; record a commercial label separately from the species assignment. Kew accepts Cannabis sativa L. as a species. [Plants of the World Online](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A306087-2)
Require measured composition and an applicable classification rule to evaluate a 'hemp' claim; record the claim as unresolved when those inputs are missing rather than treating it as a visual identification.
Scope
+ Botanical identification and the taxonomic interpretation used to assign Cannabis sativa
+ Accession, cultivar and propagation provenance, with uncertainty preserved
+ Vegetative development, flowering, sex expression, pollination and seed formation
+ Plant condition, environmental exposure and suspected biological damage
+ Organ-specific chemical observations and their sampling limitations
+ Evidence needed to assess proposed handling, sampling, transfer or removal
- Manufacturing, formulation and quality control of extracted cannabinoids or finished cannabis products
- Human intoxication, diagnosis, therapeutic efficacy and clinical dosing
- Cultivation-facility design and commercial production scheduling
- Complete population ecology, land management and regional invasive-species assessments
- The content and interpretation of jurisdictional laws, licenses and enforcement procedures
- Commodity specifications for detached fiber, food seed, oils and harvested flower batches
Characteristics
- Botanical determination
- Confirmed under named treatment; provisional Cannabis sativa; Cannabis sp.; unresolved; excluded Separates an evidenced identification from an inherited label.
- Propagation and accession provenance
- Links to accession, source plant, seed lot, cutting or tissue-culture origin; unknown permitted Supports traceability without assuming a cultivar name establishes parentage or identity.
- Leaf and growth-form evidence
- Leaflet separation, count, margin and arrangement by node; stem habit; dated images or voucher Allows identification to be checked against look-alikes and developmental variation.
- Developmental stage
- Germinating; seedling; vegetative; flowering; fruiting; senescent; dead; indeterminate Makes observations comparable and prevents stage-specific traits from being interpreted as permanent attributes.
- Observed sex expression
- Staminate flowers observed; pistillate flowers observed; both observed; reproductive organs absent; unresolved Records visible reproductive evidence without inferring sex from vegetative appearance.
- Reproductive activity
- Pollen release, pollen exposure, fruit formation and seed maturity, each dated and independently assessed Supports assessment of reproduction and movement of reproductive material.
- Plant size and change
- Height in cm, stem diameter in mm and dated differences using stated measurement landmarks Distinguishes observed growth or decline from unsupported judgments based on stature.
- Tissue condition
- Organ-specific discoloration, wilting, lesions, breakage, pest signs or visible fungal growth; severity and extent Separates observable damage from a diagnosis that may require testing.
- Environmental exposure
- Air temperature in °C, relative humidity in %, photoperiod in h/day and substrate moisture using a stated method Provides dated context for developmental and condition changes without asserting universal target ranges.
- Measured cannabinoid profile
- Named analytes in mg/g or mass %, with tissue, fresh/dry basis, collection date, method, quantification limits and uncertainty Prevents cultivar labels or an unqualified percentage from substituting for sample-specific evidence.
- Action eligibility
- Proposed action linked to location, date, custodian, applicable authority and unresolved prerequisites Keeps biological identity distinct from permission to possess, sample, move or dispose of the plant.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 11 findings · 21 questions.
Botanical identity Evidence that the observed organism belongs to this registry concept.
Cannabis-related common names, commercial labels and look-alike leaves can create different kinds of identification error.
Taxonomic placement
The authority and interpretation behind the species assignment.
Species assignment
Record the determination, taxonomic treatment, determiner and confidence separately from supplied names.
- Which taxonomic treatment and determination support assigning this organism to Cannabis sativa? definition
- Does a supplied 'sativa', 'indica' or 'hemp' label describe a botanical determination, commercial identity or other classification? boundary
Diagnostic evidence
Observable characters and retained evidence supporting recognition.
Morphological concordance
Record leaf construction, node position, stem habit and available reproductive characters together.
- Which photographed or preserved characters support Cannabis identification, and at which developmental stage were they observed? measurement
- Which plausible look-alikes remain unexcluded, and what additional organ or expert examination would distinguish them? boundary
Lineage and development The plant's biological origin and observed developmental trajectory.
Accession labels, propagation origin and developmental stage affect how comparisons between Cannabis plants should be interpreted.
Accession and propagation
Traceable origin without assumed genetic uniformity.
Lineage evidence
Separate documented source relationships from cultivar, strain and parentage claims.
- Is the plant traceable to a seed lot, source cutting or tissue-culture accession? provenance
- What evidence supports the cultivar or parentage claim beyond the supplier's label? provenance
Phenological trajectory
Dated transitions between vegetative, reproductive and declining states.
Stage and growth
Assess stage from visible organs and record growth using repeatable landmarks.
- Which organs establish the current stage, and when was the preceding stage last observed? measurement
- What changes in height, branching or senescence are documented alongside light and environmental history? measurement
Sex and reproductive state Observed flower types, reproductive activity and formation of propagules.
An agent must distinguish flower expression, pollen release, pollination evidence and seed formation rather than collapse them into one sex label.
Flower expression
Reproductive characters recorded by organ, position and time.
Observed flower types
Retain evidence of staminate, pistillate or mixed expression, including the limits of inspection.
- Which flower types are visible, at which positions, and on what inspection date? measurement
- Is the recorded sex expression directly observed, inferred from a label or still indeterminate? provenance
Pollen and propagules
Evidence of reproductive activity relevant to containment and movement.
Reproductive status
Track pollen release and fruit or seed observations without treating absence of visible evidence as proof of absence.
- What evidence establishes pollen release, pollen exposure, fruit formation or viable seed production? measurement
- Does proposed movement or handling require assessment of pollen dispersal or viable propagules? action
Condition and tissue chemistry Plant health observations and chemical evidence at the scale actually examined.
Visible condition and chemical composition answer different questions, and both require organ-specific evidence.
Organ condition
Condition of leaves, stems, roots and reproductive tissues in environmental context.
Damage and diagnostic confidence
Separate observed symptoms from suspected pests, pathogens or environmental causes.
- Which organs show damage, how extensive is it, and how has it changed between dated inspections? measurement
- What diagnostic evidence is needed before attributing the symptoms to a pest, pathogen or environmental cause? action
Chemical observation
Traceable composition measurements with explicit sampling and reporting boundaries.
Sample-bounded profile
Link cannabinoid results to sampled tissue and distinguish measured analytes from calculated totals.
- Which tissue, collection time, preparation, analytical method and mass basis produced each reported cannabinoid value? measurement
- Which compounds were measured separately, which totals were calculated, and what supports extrapolation beyond this sample? boundary
Handling and material boundaries Decision prerequisites for acting on the plant and preserving identity when material is detached.
A Cannabis plant's identity does not itself settle permissible actions or establish the identity and condition of downstream material.
Contextual action eligibility
Connect a concrete proposed action to the evidence and external authority it requires.
Action prerequisites
Record the intended action and unresolved prerequisites without embedding universal legal thresholds.
- For this place, date, custodian and proposed action, which current external rules or authorizations apply? action
- If eligibility depends on a hemp or cannabinoid classification, does the available sampling and analysis satisfy the applicable rule? boundary
Detachment and traceability
Maintain provenance across sampling, cutting, harvesting and disposal events.
Derived material identity
Create explicit links from the source plant to detached organs, propagules and material batches.
- What material was detached, from which plant and organ, when, and under which resulting sample or batch identity? provenance
- Does the detached material require a specimen, propagule, harvested-material or processed-product model for its subsequent state? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Industrial hemp (low-THC fibre and dual-purpose cultivars)
- Oilseed / grain hemp
- Drug-type / high-THC flowering cultivars (marijuana/ganja)
- CBD-dominant chemotypes
- Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa (narrow-leaflet, often fibre/seed landraces)
- Cannabis sativa subsp. indica (broad-leaflet drug landraces; rank disputed)
- Cannabis sativa subsp. ruderalis / feral weedy forms (rank disputed)
- Autoflowering and hybrid cultivars used in horticulture
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Cannabis sativa this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Cannabis sativa - Species circumscription, cultivated vs feral forms, common names, and the contested indica/ruderalis ranks.
What the second pass must settle
- Which taxonomic treatment should govern the registry's Cannabis sativa boundary, and how should alternative treatments and infraspecific names be mapped without creating duplicate concepts?
- What minimum diagnostic evidence is sufficient for seedlings, sterile plants and fragmented specimens, and when is specialist or molecular confirmation needed?
- Which sampling protocols justify extrapolating cannabinoid measurements from one organ or date to an individual plant or population?
- Which developmental and condition assessments are validated across different accessions and growing contexts rather than assumed from a single cultivar?
- Which existing Vercy models already own this species concept, detached propagules, harvested cannabis material and jurisdiction-specific permissions, and where must this draft link rather than duplicate?