Mature Plant

Description: Hemp is an annual with a branched tap root and reproduces only by seed. The plant grows 2 to 10 feet tall, has coarse, somewhat grooved, rough, and hairy stems. Plants will become quite large and bushy unless crowded. Hairs on the upper parts of the plant exude a sticky resin with a characteristic odor. The leaves are alternate or opposite, petiolate, and divided into 5 to 11 hairy leaflets with notched edges. The male and female flowers are on separate plants. The male flower is green with no petals. The male plant, which produces the pollen, turns yellow and dies soon after pollen shed. The female plant produces flowers in the axil of the upper leaves and remains green and vigorous until frost. Flowering occurs from July to September, and seed production occurs from August until frost. The seeds are yellowish-tan to mottled brown, 1/8 inch long, and oval shaped.

Seedling

Distribution: Hemp prefers rich, low, wet areas, but can also be found in waste areas, around farm buildings, road ditches, pastures, and in fields. Hemp is found throughout the southern half of Minnesota. Cultivated varieties were grown in parts of Minnesota for fiber in the 1940s and 1950s, and the heaviest infestations of hemp are found in these areas of the state.