Did you know that the cannabis plant has been used as a psychedelic for a long time, dating back to the Stone Age?
Hemp oil is an effective treatment for many different health issues, including chronic pain, inflammation, and anxiety. Hemp oil is also used in consumables such as chocolate chip cookies and candies. You can vape hemp oil as well.
It’s used in celebrations and ceremonies as well. The question is, how many of you are familiar with its history, consumption pattern, and leisure uses of ordinary people and celebrities?
Keep on reading for our full breakdown of the top eight cannabis plant facts you need to know.
Table of Contents
- 1. Ancient Uses of the Cannabis Plant
- 2. Cannabis Affects Men and Women Differently
- 3. The Main Components of the Cannabis Plant
- 4. Has High Potential for Cancer Treatment
- 5. Understanding the Differences Between Male and Female Plants
- 6. What Are Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants?
- 7. Types of Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants
- 8. Methods of Propagating Cannabis: Cloning and Seeding
- Cannabis Products and the Cannabis Plant: Simplified
1. Ancient Uses of the Cannabis Plant
Sure, tens of millions of people smoke cannabis all around the world.
But was there a turning point when people began to value cannabis for its psychedelic effects? In western China’s Himalayan plateau, archaeologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered marijuana usage in a 2,000-year-old graveyard.
There are a variety of hypotheses and sources for information on the historical usage of cannabis, but the Silk Road was a bustling marketplace for spices, crops, and hemp.
2. Cannabis Affects Men and Women Differently
Men and women react differently to cannabis. It’s possible that a couple that uses marijuana for the same purpose has quite different experiences.
Many of the discrepancies that women experience with cannabis use are due to hormonal imbalances and the menstrual cycle. Women become more sensitive to cannabis during ovulation because their bodies are producing more eggs.
External influences can affect cannabis use as well.
Men are more likely to switch to cannabis due to peer pressure and physiological demands, while women use cannabis for a variety of reasons including health, anxiety, and interpersonal relationships.
3. The Main Components of the Cannabis Plant
Let’s start with the most well-known part of the marijuana plant, the flower.
This plant’s CBD and terpenes interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system to make you feel good while also providing several health advantages.
Only female plants produce flowers. This is the final product after it has been dried and ground.
The Cola
To describe the cannabis plant’s cola in simple terms, consider it a collection of buds developing in a cluster.
A few little colas may be seen on the lower branches, but the main one usually occupies the center of the marijuana plant’s crown (or stem).
The Pistil
The Pistil has the flower’s reproductive organs. Its stigmas are thin, hair-like strands.
They gather pollen from male plants and use it to fertilize the female ones. When the plant is young, the stigmas are white; however, as it matures into a weed plant, the stigmas become yellow.
As you can already tell by the pistil, cannabis has a unique reproductive system.
The Bracts
The bracts are what grow around a female’s ovaries and fallopian tubes. Green, “tear-shaped” leaves adorn these creeping vines.
They have a large number of resin glands, which contain the majority of the marijuana plant’s cannabinoids.
The Calyx and Trichomes
Within the bracts of the female cannabis plant, you’ll find the calyx. The transparent covering shields the ovule. This makes it invisible to the unaided eye.
As for the trichomes, they are tiny. Yet, they play a significant role in the structure of the cannabis plant. They wrap the cannabis buds with a crystal-like substance. The glands found on the female or male cannabis plant’s leaves, stems, and calyx create the Trichomes.
Trichomes shield the plant from predators in the wild. Manufacturers excrete both CBD and THC along with the terpenes by these plants.
The Node
The node is the place on the cannabis plant’s stem from which a branch sprouts, or the point at which one branch splits off to form a new one. Not all nodes have buds, although some do.
When it comes to determining if a cannabis plant is male or female, the nodes are critical. That will be the subject of future discussion.
The Fan Leaves
Decorative cannabis leaves on clothes and accessories are made from fan leaves. They just operate as reflectors of light and contain only a little amount of resin. The leaves of a cannabis Sativa plant are often more spaced out in comparison to an Indica plant.
The Sugar Leaves
In most cases, you’ll find the resin in sugar leaves.
You can use small leaves that form the buds in pre-rolls, THC and CBD extracts, and many other cannabis products.
The Stem
You’ve undoubtedly heard about it before. The marijuana plant’s stem, like any other element of the plant, provides structure and stability to the rest of the plant’s sections.
To promote marijuana plant stages when the marijuana plant gets more branches and more buds, farmers can snip off the top of the stem.
4. Has High Potential for Cancer Treatment
The health benefits of cannabis have been well-documented. Treatments for chronic pain, anxiety, and several physical and mental problems might emerge with CBD oil. But, your doctor can also tell you to use them to alleviate the symptoms of terminal diseases like cancer.
In many studies, marijuana has enhanced appetite and assisted in the cure of chemotherapy-induced nausea. It also has an advantage when addressing a variety of health problems at once. When traditional medicine has failed to cure a condition, certain drugs derived from marijuana compounds may assist.
Of course, you’ll want to do more research and get a thorough understanding of the hemp oil vs CBD debate before buying cannabis products online.
5. Understanding the Differences Between Male and Female Plants
As a dioecious plant, cannabis may be either male or female. You can find the reproductive parts of each gender on separate plants. The blooms of a female marijuana plant are currently in your stash jar.
Manufacturers use the resin-secreting flower on the female plants to make the smoked buds. You’ll find the pollen sacs on the male plants towards the base of the leaves. But the buds we eat are from female plants that haven’t produced any seeds. Scientists refer to them as “sinsemilla,” which means “seedless.”
Growers can use clone or genetically identical cuttings from a parent strain to guarantee the sex of their plants. Special breeding techniques have made it possible to get female-specific seeds as well.
6. What Are Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants?
Cannabis that is both male and female may self-pollinate, making it a hermaphrodite plant.
You can find female and male sex organs in the same plant, making it an extremely unusual species. Even though these plants are capable of self-pollination, doing so is usually a poor idea since it will result in seed buds and the transmission of hermaphroditic genes.
Researchers call the phenomenon “herming out.” It occurs when a plant gets too stressed. There are a variety of things that cause anxiety, such as the plants are being harmed by illnesses or lack of critical nutrients.
7. Types of Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants
Hermaphrodite plants fall into two categories. The first is the flower buds and pollen sacs grow on the same plant. The other is when plants generate anthers called “bananas” because of the fruit they resemble.
True hermaphrodite cannabis plants, on the other hand, generate sacs that growers must rupture in order to release pollen, exposing the anthers, the pollen-producing stamen.
To avoid hermaphroditism, keep an eye on cannabis plants after they’ve faced stressors like high temperatures or light leaks. Outside, a broken branch may be healed and then transform into a single-sex plant.
To prevent hermaphroditic development in your garden, avoid plants with weak genetics or a history of hermaphroditic growth. Remove any plants with pollen sacs or anthers from your garden right away to avoid pollinating your female plants.
8. Methods of Propagating Cannabis: Cloning and Seeding
It is possible to increase the number of cannabis plants in the future by propagating them in various methods.
Despite what you may have heard, cloning is not as difficult as it first seems. No need to set up shop in a lab to do this. Take a clipping from a cannabis Indica or Sativa plant and grow it in soil or hydroponics under optimal circumstances.
It’s a basic and dependable system. Taking cuttings from a healthy “mother” means you’ll know what kind of cannabis plant you’re growing. Cannabis clones will replicate the mother plant’s characteristics, allowing you to have a new crop with the same characteristics as the original.
But seeds do not need you to start with a seedling; you may purchase seeds and plant them in the same manner as any other plant, fruit, or vegetable in your garden. This method of growth takes a bit longer.
Because seeds don’t always germinate, producing marijuana from seed is an art form.
Seeds have the advantage of not having been exposed to illness or a poor growth environment before being planted. Feminized seeds, which ensure a set proportion of female cannabis plants, may also be purchased if desired.
There are several advantages to buying seeds, including the ease with which they may be sent and carried, as well as the wide variety of cannabis strains available. You may even be able to grow your own hair if you try hard enough.
Cannabis Products and the Cannabis Plant: Simplified
If you’re a newcomer to the world of marijuana, trying to pick the right product from the start can be difficult.
Hopefully, our guide has shed some light on the main eight cannabis plant facts you need to know before starting your own research.
And, if you enjoyed reading our explainer, you’ll want to check out our recreational section for our additional tips and tricks.