Anatomy
Cannabis Flower
‘Cannabis Flower’ – Refers to bud formations that grow on female plants only. The buds contain the highest concentration of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other phytochemicals found in the plant.
Trichomes
Trichomes – Crystalized resin secreted through glands on the leaves, stems and calyxes. Most of the cannabinoid potency is found in these trichomes formed on the plant.
Leaf
Leaf – Large fan leaves extend out from the plant and vary in formation based on plant genetics. Smaller sugar leaves form closer to the plant stem, growing between/through the buds. Leaves also contain notable concentrations of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other phytochemicals.
Stems / Branches
Stems / Branches – The central stem and laterally extending branches provide the structure, support and shape of the plant. Stems contain a minor concentration of cannabinoids and other phytochemicals.
Seeds
Seeds – Once fertilized, female cannabis plants begin forming seeds within the flowers. Seeds from cannabis and hemp are used in health and wellness products, and can be a nutritious source of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
Varieties
Cannabis plants found growing in the wild across the globe show distinct characteristics typically influenced by differing geography and local climate. These early ‘landrace’ cultivars of cannabis largely fell into two distinct categories, Indica and Sativa.
Indica
Indica – Typically short, dense/bushy plant formations with a broad leaf structure, generally found in harsh climatic regions. Many notable indica cultivars, such as Hindu Kush, can trace their origins directly back to regions across South Asia.
- Associated with an expectation of sedating effects, resulting from a tendency to be dominant in myrcene and other sedating terpenes.
Sativa
Sativa – Typically tall, airy plant formations with a thin/elongated leaf structure, generally found nearer to the equator. Sativa ‘landrace’ cultivars largely originate from regions in Africa, Central America, and South America.
- Stereotypically known for an expectation of stimulating effects due to a tendency to be dominant in stimulating terpenes.
- Natural forces along with the aid of extensive human interference has led to the mass hybridization of most known cannabis cultivars. As a result, the traditional classifications of Indica and Sativa can no longer be expected to accurately categorize products by their expected effect potential. For this reason, classification by variety should only be used to help describe growth patterns and/or physical traits for the purposes of cultivation, rather than a predictor of expected chemical composition and resulting effect potential.
Hybrids
Hybrids – Cross bread cultivars possessing genetic traits from both Indica and Sativa varieties. Hybrids have the potential to present stereotypical effects of either variety or both.
Laboratory testing of an individual cultivar’s chemical profile is the only effective way to accurately categorize medical cannabis products and subsequently match them with a particular patient’s therapeutic needs.
Cultivars
Cannabis cultivars are genetically distinct cannabis plants. Each cultivar or ‘strain’ presents a unique chemical composition of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids resulting in differing effects experienced.
Breeding & Phenotypes
When two distinct cultivars of cannabis are cross-bred, the resulting seeds have the potential to possess the various traits of both the parent cultivars. The seeds produced from this cross-breeding also have the potential to be distinct from each other, resulting in many different phenotypes being produced with each cross. Thus, two cross-bred cultivars can produce dozens of distinct new cultivars.
Cultivation
Plant ‘Starter Materials’
- Seeds – Ready to germinate cannabis seeds. A growing number of ‘seed-banks’ across the globe offer an increasingly diverse catalogue of cannabis cultivar genetics.
- ‘Clones’ – Small rooted cannabis plants grown from cuttings take from a ‘mother plant.’
Production Facilities
- Indoor – Isolated cultivation facilities with environmental controls and artificial lighting.
- Greenhouse – Semi-isolated cultivation structures with limited environmental controls, utilizing sunlight often supplemented by artificial lighting.
- Outdoor – Traditional open field ‘farming’ of cannabis.
Cultivation Methods
- Traditional Soil – Potted soil cultivation.
- Hydroponic – Cannabis plants rooted in water buckets or a solid medium such as rockwool on flooded tables with constant circulation of nutrient rich water.
- Aquaponic – A combination of hydroponic plant cultivation and fish farming in which the two systems are connected so that fish waste is utilized in plant fertilization.
- Aeroponic – Cannabis plants with suspended root systems that are routinely sprayed with a nutrient rich water mist.
