Cannabis plant anatomy explains a lot about what you see at the counter. Roots, stems and big fan leaves keep the plant alive, but the part that ends up in the jar is the female flower, coated in tiny resin glands called trichomes. Here's a quick tour of the parts of the cannabis plant, starting with the seed and ending at the bud, and how each one shapes what you buy.
The seed: where cannabis plant anatomy starts
A cannabis seed is botanically a tiny fruit: a hard shell wrapped around a single seed, which holds an embryo and a small store of food. Look closely and you'll see a faint seam where the shell splits. Given moisture and warmth, the seed swells, the seam opens and a root tip pushes out first. A pair of rounded seed leaves follows, and then the familiar jagged leaves.
Cannabis roots: taproot, fibrous and adventitious
The first root becomes the taproot, which anchors the seedling and grows downward. Thinner side roots, often called fibrous roots, branch off it in every direction to take up water and nutrients. Adventitious roots grow from stem tissue rather than from the main root, which is how a cutting, or clone, roots on its own.
Root crown, stem and nodes
The root crown is where the roots meet the main stem. The stem holds the plant upright, carrying water and nutrients up from the roots and sugars out from the leaves. Along it sit the cannabis nodes, the joints where leaves and branches attach. New branches start at nodes, and the first flowers appear there too.
Male, female and hermaphrodite plants
Cannabis plants are usually either male or female. Males make pollen, and females make the resin-rich flowers sold in dispensaries. Commercial growers keep only female plants and remove the males, because seeds lower flower quality. Pollination has a measurable cost: in one study, fertilized flowers had substantially lower levels of nearly all cannabinoids.
Now and then, a female plant also grows pollen-producing anthers among its flowers. These hermaphrodite plants can pollinate themselves and leave seeds in the buds, so growers watch for them closely. If you grow at home in Michigan, adults 21 and older may keep up to 12 plants per residence, out of public view and behind a lock.
Fan leaves vs. sugar leaves
Fan leaves are the big, iconic leaves with long, saw-edged leaflets. Their job is to catch light and power the plant through photosynthesis. Sugar leaves are the small leaves tucked into the buds, named for the frosty trichomes that coat them.
Leaves hold far less cannabinoid content than flowers. In a study of three cannabis varieties, leaves carried about 1% to 2% cannabinoids, compared with roughly 16% to 20% in the flowers. That's why fan leaves are usually discarded, while trimmed sugar leaves often go into extracts.
The flower up close: colas, bracts and pistils
What is a cola? It's a dense cluster of flowers along the top of a branch, and the main cola crowns the top of the plant. Our guide to cannabis colas goes deeper.
Each tiny flower sits inside a small, teardrop-shaped bract, often called a calyx, which wraps around the part that would become a seed. Hair-like pistils poke out of each bract to catch pollen. They start out white and turn orange or brown as the flower matures.
Trichomes: where cannabinoids and terpenes are made
Trichomes are the tiny resin glands that give buds their frosty look. Mushroom-shaped stalked trichomes, concentrated on female flowers, make most of the plant's cannabinoids, such as THCA and CBDA, along with its terpenes. Smaller sessile trichomes sit flat against the surface of flowers and leaves. Near the end of the flowering stage, trichome heads shift from clear to cloudy to amber, one cue growers use to time the harvest. Learn more in our trichomes guide.
From plant to jar: top buds, popcorn buds, trim and shake
After harvest, flowers are dried, cured and trimmed, and the plant's anatomy shows up in the grades you see on a menu:
- Top buds come from the colas. They're usually the largest and densest.
- Popcorn buds are small buds from lower branches that got less light. Many shoppers see them as a good value; see our guide to popcorn buds.
- Trim is the sugar leaves and small bits clipped off during trimming, usually used for extracts.
- Shake is the loose flower that breaks off in handling, often used in pre-rolls or sold as ground flower.
Our comparison of bud, shake and popcorn breaks down the trade-offs. When you're ready to compare, browse your store's menu, and our budtenders at High Society are happy to explain what's in each jar. 21+ only. Please consume responsibly.
