This taxonomy, although highly inconsistent with prior work, is closer to the popular usage. Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. Varieties are developed to intensify specific characteristics of the plant, or to differentiate the strain for the purposes of marketing or to make it more effective fahita bread a drug.

The two species of the Cannabis genus that are most commonly grown are Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa. Pure indica varieties are shorter and bushier, with wider leaflets. They are often favored by indoor growers for their size. Sativas bloom later than indicas, often taking a month or two longer to mature. The informal designation sativa and indica may have various, controversial meanings. Morphologically, the name sativa designates tall plants with narrow leaves, while indica refers to short plants with wide leaves. There is an increasing discussion about whether the differences between species adequately represents the variability found within the genus Cannabis.

There has also been a recent movement to characterize strains based on their reported subjective effects. This section does not cite any sources. These hybrid varieties exhibit traits from both parental types. Breeding requires pollinating a female cannabis plant with male pollen. Although this occurs spontaneously and ubiquitously in nature, the intentional creation of new varieties typically involves selective breeding in a controlled environment. When cannabis is cultivated for its psychoactive or medicinal properties, male plants will often be separated from females. This prevents fertilization of the female plants, either to facilitate sin semilla flowering or to provide more control over which male is chosen.

Pollen produced by the male is caught and stored until it is needed. When a male plant of one strain pollinates a female of another strain, the seeds will be F1 hybrids of the male and female. These offspring will not be identical to their parents. Instead, they will have characteristics of both parents.

Repeated breeding results in certain characteristics appearing with greater regularity. It is impossible for a hermaphrodite to create any male-only seeds. A hermaphrodite may create female only seeds and hermaphrodite seeds. Also the female-only seeds may carry the hermaphrodite trait. Hybridization is the process of plants and animals breeding.