hemp, plant of the genus Cannabis (family Cannabaceae) that is cultivated for its fibre (bast fibre) or its seeds, which contain about 30 percent oil and may be eaten. Hemp is sometimes confused with the cannabis plants that serve as sources of the drug marijuana and the drug preparation hashish. All three products (hemp, marijuana, and hashish) contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a compound that produces psychoactive effects in humans. However, cannabis cultivated for hemp has only small amounts of THC relative to that grown for the production of marijuana or hashish.
Hemp originated in Central Asia. Hemp cultivation for fibre was recorded in China as early as 2800bce and was practiced in the Mediterranean countries of Europe early in the Christian era, spreading throughout the rest of Europe during the Middle Ages. It was planted in Chile in the 1500s and a century later in North America.
Hemp is grown in temperate zones as an annual cultivated from seed and can reach a height of up to 16 feet (5 metres). Crops grow best in sandy loam with good drainage and require average monthly rainfall of at least 2.5 inches (65 mm) throughout the growing season. Crops cultivated for fibre are densely sowed and produce plants averaging 6 to 10 feet (2 to 3 metres) tall with almost no branching. Plants grown for oilseed are planted farther apart and are shorter and many-branched. The slender stalks are hollow except at the tip and base. The leaves are compound with palmate shape, and the flowers are small and greenish yellow. Seed-producing flowers form elongate, spikelike clusters growing on the pistillate, or female, plants; pollen-producing flowers form many-branched clusters on staminate, or male, plants. Maximum yield and quality are obtained by harvesting soon after the plants reach maturity, indicated by the full blossoms and freely shedding pollen of the male plants. Although sometimes pulled up by hand, plants are more often cut off about 1 inch (2 to 3 cm) above the ground.
Fibres are obtained by subjecting the stalks to a series of operations—including retting, drying, and crushing—and a shaking process that completes separation from the woody portion, releasing the long, fairly straight fibre, or line. The fibre strands, usually over 5.8 feet (1.8 metres) long, are made of individual cylindrical cells with an irregular surface. The fibre, longer and less flexible than flax, is usually yellowish, greenish, or a dark brown or gray and, because it is not easily bleached to sufficiently light shades, is rarely dyed. It is strong and durable and is used for cordage—e.g., twine, yarn, rope, cable, and string—and for artificial sponges and such coarse fabrics as sacking (burlap) and canvas. In Italy some hemp receives special processing, producing whitish colour and attractive lustre, and is used to make fabric similar to linen. Other plant fibres used for cordage have been incorrectly called hemp, but only the hemp plant yields true hemp.
Leading producers of hemp fibre include India, Romania, China, Hungary, Poland, and Turkey. The largest importers are Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and France.