Fossils and genomic data illuminate the origin of Cannabis and Humulus

The sister genera Cannabis and Humulus include some of the most versatile plants known to man utilised for food, fibre, and mind-altering effects. Although Cannabis is one of the earliest domesticated plants and Humulus has been harvested for at least a thousand years, their early evolution remains poorly understood and has been debated for over two centuries. We infer a robust phylogeny of their family (Cannabaceae) based on plastid genomes and a review of the fossil record of Cannabis and Humulus to estimate a timescale of their evolution. Our study is the first to incorporate diverse phylogenetically- and stratigraphically-justified calibrations, combined with genomic data to infer the divergence dates of Cannabis and Humulus.