What is Cannabis ruderalis?
Cannabis ruderalis is a type of wild cannabis, small and with very little THC, that flowers based on its age rather than the hours of light. That ability is what seed banks use to create autoflowering strains.
It grows naturally in cold regions of Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, where summers are very short. Its name comes from "ruderal", the word botanists use for plants that grow on land disturbed by people, such as roadsides or vacant lots.
In those places, a plant that waited for the days to get shorter before flowering would risk the cold arriving before it finished. Ruderalis adapted to that: after a few weeks of life it flowers no matter what, however much light there's.
Some botanists consider it a separate species, while others see it as a wild form of the same species as the rest of cannabis. For the grower, what matters is the way it flowers.
What a ruderalis plant is like
- Small: it usually stays short and has few branches.
- Fast: it completes its life cycle in a short time.
- Hardy: it copes well with cold and harsh climates.
- Not very potent: it produces very little THC and few buds, which is why it isn't grown on its own.
What about the seeds?
You won't find pure ruderalis seeds for growing its buds. What you'll find are autoflowering strains: seed banks crossed ruderalis with indicas and sativas, then selected generation after generation until they got plants that flower on their own but with good flavor, good potency and a good yield.
So when you grow an autoflower, you're making use of the legacy of this wild plant. On some product pages you'll see that the genetics include a percentage of ruderalis.
Related terms
- What are autoflowering seeds?
- What is an indica plant?
- What is a sativa plant?
- What is a landrace variety?
Before you grow, check the laws in your country: growing cannabis is not allowed everywhere.
