FLOWER
Cannabis flower is the most popular product on the shelf at PA dispensaries and the basis for any commercial cannabis operation. All products a cultivator produces—whether concentrates, vape cartridges, or RSO—begin with flower.
Continue reading to learn more about the anatomy of cannabis plants, cannabis genetics, how plants are grown, and how they are classified on the shelf.
COLA
The cola is the part of the cannabis plant where the flowers come together along the main stem of the plant. Also referred to as a “bud site” or “bud terminal”—it is a cluster of buds that grow tightly together that is later cured and harvested for processing.
FLOWERS
The flowers or “buds” of a cannabis plant are the final product that ends up on the shelf. They contain the cannabinoids and terpenes. Flowers only grow on female cannabis plants and must be dried before use.
PISTILS / STIGMAS
The stigmas of the plant are hair-like structures that grow from the pistil and play a key role in reproduction. Although stigmas are colorful, changing from white, to yellow-orange and eventually red and brown, they bring little to the flower's potency or taste.
SUGAR LEAVES
Sugar leaves are the small, resin-coated leaves that grow out of buds during the flowering stage. They can be coated in trichomes and are typically trimmed off the buds after harvest.
FAN LEAVES
Fan leaves are the large, iconic leaves of the cannabis plant. They are where photosynthesis occurs and are typically removed when trimming the plant. Fan leaves can indicate the type of cannabis plant through appearance.
Image courtesy of Chris "Kandid Kush" Romaine
TRICHOMES
Pictured to the left is a close-up image of a cannabis trichome courtesy of photographer Chris "Kandid Kush" Romaine. Trichomes are tiny appendages that coat the cannabis plant's surface. To the naked eye, they appear as the frosty, shiny coating that covers cannabis buds.
Trichomes exist on many species of plants, but for cannabis, they play essential role as a defense mechanism in nature and function as the microscopic factory for the plant's cannabinoids and terpenes—giving the plant all its therapeutic benefits.
These resin glands can exist in a several different shapes and sizes, appearing as crystal-like, rounded, transparent globes. They coat the flowers but are very fragile and must be preserved to keep the terpenes and cannabinoids intact.
CANNABIS GENETICS
The best way to understand cannabis genetics is by thinking about how your own genetics have been passed down to you from your parents. Cannabis, like humans, has what's called a diploid genome. This means that when a male cannabis plant pollinates a female plant to reproduce, the genetic expression of both plants will show in the offspring.
All cannabis strains have a genotype. This is the genetic code passed down from the parents that displays potential for what each specific strain can be once grown out. Factors like grow medium, environment, and different techniques all have an impact on the final flower, but the genotype of a cultivar plays a direct role in determining the quality and potential effects of the plant. A well-developed genotype from a reputable breeder allows for a better opportunity for higher-quality end product.
BREEDERS
Cannabis breeders have been the driving force behind new and enhanced genetic expressions for decades. Every cannabis strain you see today is the result of breeders utilizing years of knowledge and experience to create unique cultivars that end up being grown by licensed growers in legal markets all around the country.
At its core cannabis breeding is simply about crossing two cannabis strains with the goal of getting an offspring with the most desirable traits from each parent. It sounds simple, but it is a long process that can takes hard work and an eye for what quality cannabis looks like. Breeders searching for a new strain will meticulously select desirable parents by looking through different genetic variations of the same cultivar. Once chosen these genetics will go through several rounds of breeding to stabilize and strengthen their genetic expressions to solidify the genetics and result in a more consistent end product. The end result of the breeding process is a new strain that is a cross of two parent strains and can come to growers in the form of a seed or a clone.
While patients may often see growers cultivating strains with the same name, this does not always mean they are the same genetic. Getting high-quality product from a garden starts with knowing and trusting the breeder that each cultivar is being sourced from. The seed market is unregulated, which allows anybody to name their strain whatever they want. So, growers working with reputable, trustworthy breeders is vital to ensuring the end product maintains genetic integrity and consistency.
As always, the more a grower can tell you about their product the better. This includes not only the lineage of a strain, but the breeder that genetic is sourced from.
LINEAGE
Cannabis strains all have a genetic lineage. This exists as a family tree that details the story of each strain and its ancestry. While strain information does not often dive too far into the family tree, you will often see the direct parentage of a strain displayed.
For example, Super Lemon Pupil bred by Mass Medical Strains is a cross of Super Lemon Haze and Star Pupil. These are the two cultivars that make up the lineage of Super Lemon Pupil and it's usually shown like this:
(Super Lemon Haze x Star Pupil)
ANATOMY OF THE PLANT
Cannabis plants can be grown in an ever-increasing variety of strains and cultivars.
Based on their genetic makeup, different strains can all possess various physical characteristics, aromas, tastes, and effects, but they all share the same basic anatomy that makes up the cannabis plant, as shown in the diagram below.
CANNABIS GENETICS
The best way to understand cannabis genetics is by thinking about how your own genetics have been passed down to you from your parents. Cannabis, like humans, has what's called a diploid genome. This means that when a male cannabis plant pollinates a female plant to reproduce, the genetic expression of both plants will show in the offspring.
All cannabis strains have a genotype. This is the genetic code passed down from the parents that displays potential for what each specific strain can be once grown out. Factors like grow medium, environment, and different techniques all have an impact on the final flower, but the genotype of a cultivar plays a direct role in determining the quality and potential effects of the plant. A well-developed genotype from a reputable breeder allows for a better opportunity for higher-quality end product.
LINEAGE
Cannabis strains all have a genetic lineage. This exists as a family tree that details the story of each strain and its ancestry. While strain information does not often dive too far into the family tree, you will often see the direct parentage of a strain displayed.
For example, Super Lemon Pupil bred by Mass Medical Strains is a cross of Super Lemon Haze and Star Pupil. These are the two cultivars that make up the lineage of Super Lemon Pupil and it's usually shown like this:
(Super Lemon Haze x Star Pupil)
BREEDERS
Cannabis breeders have been the driving force behind new and enhanced genetic expressions for decades. Every cannabis strain you see today is the result of breeders utilizing years of knowledge and experience to create unique cultivars that end up being grown by licensed growers in legal markets all around the country.
At its core cannabis breeding is simply about crossing two cannabis strains with the goal of getting an offspring with the most desirable traits from each parent. It sounds simple, but it is a long process that can takes hard work and an eye for what quality cannabis looks like. Breeders searching for a new strain will meticulously select desirable parents by looking through different genetic variations of the same cultivar. Once chosen these genetics will go through several rounds of breeding to stabilize and strengthen their genetic expressions to solidify the genetics and result in a more consistent end product. The end result of the breeding process is a new strain that is a cross of two parent strains and can come to growers in the form of a seed or a clone.
While patients may often see growers cultivating strains with the same name, this does not always mean they are the same genetic. Getting high-quality product from a garden starts with knowing and trusting the breeder that each cultivar is being sourced from. The seed market is unregulated, which allows anybody to name their strain whatever they want. So, growers working with reputable, trustworthy breeders is vital to ensuring the end product maintains genetic integrity and consistency.
As always, the more a grower can tell you about their product the better. This includes not only the lineage of a strain, but the breeder that genetic is sourced from.
BREEDERS, LINEAGE, AND GENETICS
Breeding, genetic selection, and genetic lineages all play an essential role in the flower that patients see on the shelf. Before we dive into how plants are grown, it's important to understand these terms and how the genetics of a cannabis plant affects the final flower.
GROWING PROCESS & STAGES
Every licensed grower in the state of PA dedicates a major portion of their facility's square footage to growing flower. With access to top-of-the-line equipment and years of growing expertise at their disposal, cultivators look to scale up the growing process and grow consistent high-quality product.
The basic steps of this process are outlined below to give patients an idea of how growers are going from seed to sale (germination to final product). This is only meant to serve as a brief overview of what is a long and nuanced process.
WHAT'S ON THE SHELF?
After flower is cultivated, cured, trimmed, and packaged it ends up on the shelf at the dispensary. All flower is pre-packed and made available in a range of weights from 3.5-gram, 7g, 14g, and 28g offerings.
When visiting the dispensary patients will notice flower categorized into three different types: sativa, indica, and hybrid. What began as a way of classifying different species of cannabis by their physical traits when they grow has now become the standard method of categorizing strains and a way of broadly determining the potential effects of a specific cultivar.
A SPECTRUM, NOT A CLASSIFICATION
While sativa, indica, and hybrid can be an easy access point to start understanding cultivars for patients, it's important not to consider flower grouped as indica or sativa as "either-or" choices, but rather recognize that each individual strain exists on a wider spectrum that can serve as a roadmap to getting a desired experience.
As you gain knowledge of different cultivars and your own preferences, it's best to take a more holistic view by trying to understand the nuances about each strain—like its lineage, breeder, terpene composition, and potency. Keep this in mind when viewing the general description of the common physical traits and effects of each category below.
SATIVA
Sativa plants grow tall in stature and possess long, narrow fan leaves with thin fingers, and a lighter green foliage. Sativa flowers begin growing at the nodes and expand along the length of the stem and branches, rather than clustering around the nodes. The buds tend to be light, long, and “airy” or “feathery” in appearance.
The common psychoactive effects of sativa plants tend to have more energizing, uplifting, and cerebral effects.
HYBRID
Hybrid plants are crossbreeds between indica and sativa strains. Consisting of genetics of both indica and sativa plants, they can share qualities in both physical appearance and psychoactive effects. Hybrids can be bred to express more traits from one dominant parent to be sativa-dominant or indica-dominant or be closer to a true 50/50 balance.
Common psychoactive effects of hybrid plants, as expected, are usually a blend of sativa traits and indica traits.
INDICA
Indica plants grow shorter in stature and possess broad fan leaves. The plant is typically stocky and thick stemmed with dark green foliage. Indica flowers grow in thick clusters around the nodes and tend to be compact and dense with less space in between each bud.
The common psychoactive effects of indica plants tend to have more relaxing and sedative effects that can be felt in the body.
SATIVA
Sativa plants grow tall in stature and possess long, narrow fan leaves with thin fingers, and a lighter green foliage. Sativa flowers begin growing at the nodes and expand along the length of the stem and branches, rather than clustering around the nodes. The buds tend to be light, long, and “airy” or “feathery” in appearance.
The common psychoactive effects of sativa plants tend to have more energizing, uplifting, and cerebral effects.
HYBRID
Hybrid plants are crossbreeds between indica and sativa strains. Consisting of genetics of both indica and sativa plants, they can share qualities in both physical appearance and psychoactive effects. Hybrids can be bred to express more traits from one dominant parent to be sativa-dominant or indica-dominant or be closer to a true 50/50 balance.
Common psychoactive effects of hybrid plants, as expected, are usually a blend of sativa traits and indica traits.
INDICA
Indica plants grow shorter in stature and possess broad fan leaves. The plant is typically stocky and thick stemmed with dark green foliage. Indica flowers grow in thick clusters around the nodes and tend to be compact and dense with less space in between each bud.
The common psychoactive effects of indica plants tend to have more relaxing and sedative effects that can be felt in the body.
Germination or "seed popping" is the process in which a new plant begins to grow from a seed. Growers will typically source their seeds from third parties and look to gather a wide-ranging “seed library” that gives them access to growing different strains and potentially creating their own genetics with hybrids. What emerges is a seedling that has roots and is ready to be placed in soil. The seedling stage will last approximately 2-3 weeks and growers will use this as the first step in pheno-hunting to find a mother plant that will be the basis of production.
A phenotype describes the plants physical appearance, its developmental growth, and its overall behavior. The phenotype of a strain comes from the plants genotype and the influence of the environment it is grown in. The genotype describes the possibilities a plant could have once grown, and the phenotype are the traits of the plant once it is grown.
So, a strain that possesses the exact same genotype can be cultivated by two different growers and can result in two different phenotypes depending on the cultivating environment. Growers look for the best phenotype by pheno-hunting. When a grower decides to produce a particular strain, each seed will be a different phenotype of the strain so they will have to germinate each one and allow the plant to grow to determine the plant with the best characteristics. This is a meticulous and time-consuming process for growers, but one that is vital in finding the mother plant and having a consistent high-quality product.
Cannabis plants come from one of two sources: a seed or a clone. Commercial growers harvest plants from clones and in order to produce clones mother plants are needed. Mother plants are found through pheno-hunting, and growers take cuttings off them to create clones. They stay in the vegetative stage and can be repeatedly clipped from to create clones.
Mother plants guarantee genetic consistency, meaning that each clone will have the same taste, flavor, effects, and characteristics as the mother. This will also guarantee that all clones are female and since female plants are the desired sex of the cannabis plants growers don’t have to waste valuable time growing from seed, sexing plants, and discarding males. Mother plants can last for some time and growers will typically have a room where they store the mother plants and keep the environment controlled to maintain the vegetative stage for the plant.
Vegetative Propagation or vegetative cloning is the process of taking a stem from a mother plant and rooting it to produce a new plant. The cuttings are typically placed in trays with liquid rooting solution and exposed to high humidity and consistent temperatures to produce new roots. This is an essentially simple process, but a process where controlled environmental conditions and healthy mother plants play critical roles in producing a successful crop. Through cloning, a new harvest is created with exact replicas of the best plants. And as described above because the genetics are identical, a clone will yield a plant with the same characteristics as the mother.
After growing the first set of fan leaves with a complete set of leaflets, the plant goes from being a seedling to the vegetative stage. Now the plant grows only stems and leaves (not flowers or “buds”). Here, the plant will be transitioned into a larger pot and allowed to grow to its full potential. The environment is similar to the environment of seedlings, maintaining a lighting schedule of typically 18 hours a day and keeping up with watering as well as the humidity levels and temperature of the environment.
The flowering stage is the final stage of growth for a cannabis plant. This is when plants start to develop resinous buds. The first stage of flowering is the transition period from vegetation to flowering. This stage can be induced by changing the lighting cycle of the plant to less light exposure. The longer periods of darkness signal the plant to begin flowering. Some growers also cultivate auto-flowering plants that will progress from vegetation to flowering based on age, not change in environment. Eventually, the plant will stop growing in size and begin to start the process of flowering to grow buds. This is where trichomes begin to become visible and the plant becomes ready to harvest.
It is critical for growers to know when cannabis plants are ripe and ready for harvest. Harvesting too early will reduce overall yield and potency and harvesting too late can cause the trichomes to become extra-brittle when they are dried and cured, making them break off easily. Harvesting at the optimal time is crucial in ensuring the largest possible, highest-quality yield for growers.
Once the plant is cut for harvest it is hanged to dry for several days before being trimmed. Once the flowers are dry, they are ready to be trimmed and cured. The trimming process can differ depending on the grower. Most high-quality buds will be hand-trimmed, but some growers utilize trimming machines or sell untrimmed buds. Whether it is trimmed or not the buds must be cured before being ready to use.
To cure, growers generally place buds in anything from glass jars to specialized airtight bags for about 4-8 weeks. The curing process is typically gradual to ensure a proper balance of air and moisture that will preserve fragrance and flavor. The curing process can differ from strain to strain and cannot be overlooked, because it is generally what makes good flower great. Once cured properly the buds are ready to be trimmed, packaged, and placed on the shelf.
Each step is crucial for growing high quality product, but the trim can often get overlooked. After the flower gets harvested and goes through dry cure it needs to be trimmed—the excess stems and leaves shaped off the nug before it goes into the package. Trimming is typically the last step for growers, and if done all by hand one of the most tedious and labor-intensive jobs in the grow. A lot of growers will opt to trim their flower by machine, not hand.
Once flower is dried, cured, and trimmed, it's ready to be packaged. Flower can come in a variety of different packages and all depends on what the cultivator decides to use. These can range from glass jars, to plastic containers, to the popular "mylar bags" that are air-tight sealed bags.