April Fool’s Day may come and go, but one thing remains: In retail, a sucker is born every minute. Don’t be that guy.

An experienced cannabis consumer could laugh off a seller peddling a dime bag of oregano. But even a savvy buyer might get faked out by plants that, especially when missing their flowers or fruits, resemble cannabis (sativa, specifically). What are these plants, and how can you tell them apart from cannabis? Read on to find out.

Glossary

Here are some terms to know up front, for quick reference.

  • compound leaf: leaf divided into smaller leaves (called leaflets)
  • leaflets: small leaves that combine to make a single, larger leaf
  • lobes: undivided leaflets
  • margin: edge of the leaf or leaflet
  • palmate leaf: compound leaf comprising leaflets or lobes that resemble a star or a hand with its fingers spread apart
  • palmately compound leaf: palmate leaf whose leaflets are separate all the way down to the leaf’s stalk
  • palmately lobed leaf: palmate leaf that has lobes instead of leaflets
  • serrated: edged with teeth

Image Credit: gracey 4U /Flickr/CC BY 2.0 via Creative Commons

1. Spider flower/Pinkqueen flower (Cleome hassleriana aka Tarenaya hassleriana/Chodat/Iltis)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Palmately compound leaves with five to seven leaflets
  • Serrated margins
  • Hair on the surfaces of the leaves (Note: These are what produce the musky odor mistaken for cannabis’s skunky odor, so feel that leaf for prickles even if it smells legit!)

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Shallow indentations along the serrated margins
  • Leaves that alternate along the stem instead of being opposite near the base of the stem
  • Sticky prickles
  • Pink flowers (when fully mature)

Spider Flower/Cleome/ Photo Credit: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

2. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Serrated margins
  • Palmate leaves

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Palmately lobed with three, five or seven deeply cut palmate divisions
  • Stiff hairs along the veins on the undersides (not coarse like cannabis)
  • No yellow resin dots
  • Large white or yellow flowers
  • Large green pods (when fully mature)

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Photo Credit:Pancrat, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

3. Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Palmate leaves
  • Serrated margins
  • Hair on the underside
  • Slender, green leaves on young saplings

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Lance-shaped, palmately lobed leaves (Note: Sometimes the lobes are so deep that they appear to be leaflets instead, so look closely!)
  • Red, pink or purple hues on the leaves
  • Thick, woody leaf stalk
  • Shallow indentations along the serrated margins
  • Hairless top surface (Note: There are tufts of soft hairs between the veins on the underside of the leaf though – those don’t count, compared to pot’s hairs.)

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) Photo Credit: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

4. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Serrated margins
  • Palmate leaves (upper leaves only)

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Heart-shaped leaves (lower leaves) or palmately lobed leaves (upper leaves)
  • Three to seven deep lobes
  • Complete flowers instead of only buds
  • Hairless surface

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) Photo Credit: Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

5. Texas Star (Hibiscus coccineus)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Serrated margins
  • Textured leaves

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Droopy leaves
  • Crimson flowers (when fully mature)

Texas Star (Hibiscus coccineus)/Photo Credit: Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

6. Coral plant/Coralbush (Jatropha multifida)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Palmate leaves

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Viscous, white latex exuded when damaged
  • Deeply palmately lobed leaves, with five to 11 lobes
  • Incised margins (too large to be serrated teeth)
  • Bright pink flowers (when fully mature)
  • Cat urine-like odor (very different from pot’s trademark perfume)

Coral plant/Coralbush (Jatropha multifida)/Photo Credit: Cliosonic, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

7. Cassava/Crantz/Yuca/Manioc (Manihot esculenta)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Palmate leaves
  • Buds instead of complete flowers

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Viscous, white latex exuded when damaged
  • Deeply palmately lobed, with three to 10 lobes
  • Smooth margins
  • Hairless surface
  • Colorful, conspicuous buds (versus pot’s subtle colors)

Cassava/Crantz/Yuca/Manioc (Manihot esculenta)

8. Southern marigold/Muster-John-Henry (Tagetes minuta)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Long, elongated leaves as a seedling
  • Serrated margins

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Small, yellow flowers (when fully mature)
  • Leaves that are not palmate (each one is attached to the stem, not comprising leaflets or lobes in a star shape)

Southern marigold/Muster-John-Henry (Tagetes minuta)

9. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Elongated, thin green leaves
  • Serrated margins

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Bright yellow flowers (when fully mature)
  • Leaves that are not palmate (each one is attached to the stem, not comprising leaflets or lobes in a star shape)

Sunn hemp(Crotalaria juncea)/Photo Credit: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

10. Chaste tree/Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus)

How It Looks Like Cannabis

  • Palmately compound leaves with five leaflets

How You Can Tell It’s Not Cannabis

  • Smooth margins
  • Leaves that curl under slightly at the end
  • Light purple flowers and berries (when fully mature)

Chaste tree/Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus)/Photo Credit:H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Conclusion

Keep a sharp eye out when you’re buying reefer, no matter the source, to make sure you’re not being fooled by faux pot. (And don’t be afraid to call shenanigans on tricksters!) Plus, make sure you’re not getting arrested under false pretenses if you’re booked for possession of marijuana when you’re merely transporting a baby Japanese maple tree or undeveloped okra. You can never be too careful.

The information in this article and any included images are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations or your health, you should always consult an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.

Kathleen Hearons is a writer, editor, linguist and voice over actor from Los Angeles. She specializes in creative writing and research-intensive analysis and reporting.

 

 

Sources and Suggested Reading

Addison, Brandi D. “These 6 plants in Texas smell and look like cannabis. Be careful planting to avoid trouble.” Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Austin American-Statesman. June 25, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2024/06/25/6-plants-texas-smell-look-like-weed-marijuana-cannabis/74193652007/.

Anderson, Patti J., and Alexander de la Paz. “How to identify hemp, Cannabis sativa L. (and lookalike) plants.” Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry. FDACS-P-01945, Issue 43 (April 2021). Accessed March 29, 2025. https://ccmedia.fdacs.gov/content/download/96962/file/CIRCULAR-Hemp-01945.pdf.

Bender, Steve. “Don’t Let These Marijuana Lookalikes Send You To Jail!.” Southern Living. Last updated Oct. 9, 2014. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/don-apos-t-let-marijuana-150010260.html.

“Cannabis Plants and Their Botanical Counterparts: The Most Common 5.” Just Bob. Last modified March 20, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://www.justbob.shop/cannabis-like-plants/.

“Full Guide on Plants that Look Like Weed.” Plantin. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://myplantin.com/weed/plants-that-look-like-weed.

Hillibish, Jim. “Greenspace: It’s not marijuana, it’s cleome.” The State Journal-Register. Last updated September 20, 2008. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2008/09/20/greenspace-it-s-not-marijuana/48012559007/.

Martin, Cliff G., and Zachary T. Brown. “Cannabis sativa Plant Identification and Its Look-Alikes.” May 7, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG476.

Stone, Emma. “10 Plants That You Might Mistake for Marijuana.” Leafwell. Last updated Oct. 7, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://leafwell.com/blog/plants-that-look-like-marijuana.

Stuart, Ryan. “5 plants that could be mistaken for cannabis.” Cottage Life. Last updated March 26, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://cottagelife.com/general/5-plants-that-could-be-mistaken-for-cannabis.

Topp, Brandon. “10 Plants That Look Like Weed.” Mood. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://mood.com/blog/plants-that-look-like-weed.

“What Other Plant Looks Like Marijuana?.” ARCannabisClinic. May 21, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2025. https://www.arcannabisclinic.com/post/what-other-plant-looks-like-marijuana.