What are the Tiny Red Hairs on Weed?

cannabis plant red hairs

Do not be too surprised if you come across a regular cannabis user that knows very little about marijuana. This happens largely because most of them only care about what the herb offers and they feel there’s no need to bother with truly understanding the unique characteristics of the herb. Unfortunately, this is very detrimental. With the right knowledge of your herb, you'll be fully equipped with the necessary information you need to improve your cannabis experience.

In this article, we will be taking a closer look at the tiny red hairs that we see on weed and how it is important for the identification of a good batch.

The ability to differentiate between an indica-dominant hybrid and a sativa-dominant herb is not a common trait that you can easily see in every cannabis user. It takes a good knowledge of the various parts of the anatomy of the plant. Let me briefly run through some of the prominent parts of the anatomy of the cannabis plant that might not be known by the regular cannabis user.

Cola: This refers to the aspect of the cannabis flower that grows at the end of any branch. It also refers to the largest bud that grows on the top of the main stem.

Bract: This refers to a special type of leaf-shaped as a teardrop and covered by resin glands.

Calyx: It is also known as the bud and it has a strong concentration of sugar leaves with a considerable amount of trichomes covering them.

Trichomes: This refers to tiny, bulbous globes with a good concentration of beneficial cannabinoids like THC and CBD. It also contains a good concentration of aromatic oils such as terpenes.

Nodes: This is the part of the stems of the marijuana plant from which fan leaves protrude.

Fan leaves: A huge collection of leaves on the plant that make up a considerable amount of the harvest and are readily used in creating edibles.

You will easily notice that there was no emphasis on the red hairs on weed amongst the prominent parts listed above. To understand that, we need to first talk about another part of the cannabis plant which is the pistil.

What is a pistil?

A pistil is simply a female cannabis organ. It is from this pistil that the red hairs we are talking about protrude from. The tiny hairs are called “stigmas” and they are majorly tiny hair strands that protrude from the pistil. The role of the stigma as it is with other plants is to collect pollen from male marijuana plants. Upon contact with the pollen from the male cannabis plants, the stigmas are pollinated which brings about different processes in the plant.

The color of the stigmas of the pistil before pollination is white but with the onset of harvest time, the color of the hairs begins to darken and eventually become yellow or orange depending on the strain. Pistils produce seed as a product of pollination which is a major role in reproduction however, it is not beneficial to a cannabis grower. This is major because the attention of the plant once pollination occurs shifts from producing resinous flowers needed for cannabinoids to developing the seed. This makes the weed less effective in giving the desired medicinal and recreational effects.

Advantages of Pistils in Young and Mature Cannabis Plants

There is a difference between pistils in young cannabis plants mature cannabis plants which must be understood if we are to move ahead with the importance of stigmas and pistils. In young cannabis plants, male cannabis plants develop prior to female cannabis plants. The feminized seed for instance can easily be identified as females within the first three to six weeks after germination. Young plants can easily have random pistils poking out which makes scrutinization important to spot preflowers quickly. The presence of white hairs protruding from several nodes during scrutinization shows you have a female plant on your hand. However, the type of strain can affect how long you can easily identify what type of plant you have on your hands as some can take as long as 8 weeks for confirmation as a female plant.

When the plants eventually become matured, the purpose of early identification of male and female cannabis plants can then be effected. The male cannabis plants need to be removed from the growing area early enough so they do not fertilize crops which will defeat the purpose of the cultivation process. Aside from the identification of plants while they are young, pistils can also be used to determine whether a plant is ready for harvest. The color of the pistils can be used for this purpose as their color changes with the stage of growth of the plant.

For the first four weeks, the stigma remains white which then begins to turn yellowish and eventually turns red, amber, or dark brown at harvest time. Timing your harvest is very important as a grower and it is important to ensure that at least 50% of the stigmas have changed to red or brown color before you consider harvesting. This is because this is the time when the buds are most potent and more beneficial to the grower.

Precaution with harvesting

It is important to ensure that you do not wait too long before considering harvesting. Waiting too long may cause the stigma to dry out thus reducing the quality of your buds. At this point, degradation occurs and some of the THC would have been degraded to CBN which critically affects the taste and potency of the plant. Pistils and calyxes make up the flowering plant of the cannabis plant which is dried, cured, and consumed. It contains a good concentration of cannabinoids which is why they must be handled properly.

Bottom line

Understanding what pistils and stigmas are is paramount for every serious cannabis grower. If the advantage of this knowledge is not utilized properly, it can make or mar the entire growth process.