Marijuana plants definitively have flowers. The dense, resinous structures harvested and consumed, commonly referred to as “buds,” are botanically the plant’s flowers, or a cluster of flowers called an inflorescence. Cannabis is an annual plant, completing its entire life cycle, including reproduction, within a single growing season. This reproductive phase involves a natural shift from vegetative growth to the production of these flowers.
The Botanical Reality of Cannabis Flowering
The structures known as buds are the specialized reproductive organs of the female cannabis plant. These clusters of small, petalless flowers form at the nodes along the stem and branches. The plant transitions from vegetative growth, where it focuses on developing leaves and stems, into a flowering stage.
This shift is largely driven by environmental factors, particularly the change in the photoperiod, or the duration of light the plant receives. As days shorten or controlled indoor lighting is reduced, the plant redirects its energy toward producing flowers for reproduction. The resulting dense, sticky mass is the plant’s biological effort to capture pollen and create seeds.
The Crucial Difference Between Male and Female Plants
Cannabis is a dioecious species, meaning individual plants are either male or female, each bearing distinct reproductive structures. The male cannabis plant develops small, globe-shaped flowers that cluster together, forming pollen sacs. The function of these male flowers is to produce and release pollen to fertilize a female plant.
The female plant develops pistillate flowers designed to catch this pollen. Successful fertilization causes the female plant to expend energy on seed production, resulting in flowers with lower concentrations of desirable compounds. Cultivators vigilantly remove male plants to prevent pollination. This practice results in a seedless product, known as sinsemilla, which maximizes the plant’s energy on producing large, potent, unpollinated flowers.
Anatomy of the Usable Flower and Cannabinoid Production
The marketable female flower is a complex botanical structure composed of several distinct parts. The main bulk of the flower is formed by the calyxes, which are small, tear-shaped nodules that encase the ovule and are heavily coated in resin. From the calyxes emerge the pistils, which are hair-like strands that start white and eventually darken to orange, red, or brown as the flower matures.
The potency of the female flower is linked to microscopic structures called trichomes. These tiny, mushroom-shaped glands cover the surface of the calyxes and surrounding small “sugar leaves.” The trichomes function as biological factories, synthesizing and storing the plant’s chemical compounds. These compounds include cannabinoids, such as the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and non-intoxicating cannabidiol (CBD), alongside aromatic molecules known as terpenes.