BUDTENDERGUIDE

BREAKDOWN
THE CANNABIS PLANT IS COMPRISED OF SEVERAL STRUCTURES, MANY OF WHICH
WE CAN FIND ON ANY ORDINARY FLOWERING SPECIES. CANNABIS GROWS ON
LONG SKINNY STEMS WITH ITS LARGE, ICONIC FAN LEAVES EXTENDING OUT
FROM AREAS CALLED NODES. CANNABIS REALLY STARTS TO STAND OUT IN HER
FLOWERS WHERE UNIQUE AND INTRICATE FORMATIONS OCCUR.
TRICHOMES
DESPITE THEIR MINUTE SIZE, IT’S HARD TO MISS THE BLANKET OF CRYSTAL RESIN ON A CANNABIS BUD. THIS
RESIN (OR “KIEF” WHEN DRY) IS SECRETED THROUGH TRANSLUCENT, MUSHROOM-SHAPED GLANDS ON THE
LEAVES, STEMS, AND CALYXES. TRICHOMES WERE ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED TO PROTECT THE PLANT
AGAINST PREDATORS AND THE ELEMENTS. THESE CLEAR BULBOUS GLOBES OOZE AROMATIC OILS CALLED
TERPENES AS WELL AS THERAPEUTIC CANNABINOIDS LIKE THC AND CBD. THE BASIS OF HASH PRODUCTION
DEPENDS ON THESE TRICHOMES AND THEIR POTENT SUGAR-LIKE RESIN.
COLA
ALSO KNOWN AS THE TERMINAL BUD, COLA REFERS TO THE PLANT’S “BUD SITE” WHERE TIGHT FEMALE
FLOWERS BLOOM. THE MAIN COLA (SOMETIMES CALLED THE APICAL BUD) FORMS AT THE VERY TOP OF THE
PLANT, WHILE SMALLER COLAS OCCUR ALONG THE BUDDING SITES BELOW. THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF
CANNABIS COLAS CAN BE INCREASED THROUGH A VARIETY OF GROWING TECHNIQUES LIKE TOPPING, LOW
STRESS TRAINING (LST), AND SCREEN OF GREEN (SCROG).
CALYX
TO THE UNKNOWING EYE, CANNABIS BUDS JUST LOOK LIKE A KNOBBY TANGLE OF LEAVES, BUT THE CALYX
IS WHAT ACTUALLY COMPRISES THE FEMALE FLOWER. LOOK CLOSELY UNDERNEATH THOSE TINY LEAVES
(CALLED “SUGAR LEAVES”) AND YOU’LL FIND THOSE TEAR-SHAPED NODULES. THESE ARE THE CALYXES,
AND THEY COME IN MANY DIFFERENT SHAPES, SIZES, AND COLORS. CALYXES TYPICALLY CONTAIN HIGH
CONCENTRATIONS OF TRICHOMES, OR GLANDS THAT SECRETE THC AND OTHER CANNABINOIDS.
PISTILS
OUT FROM THE CALYXES PEEK TINY RED-ORANGE HAIRS; THESE VIBRANT STRANDS ARE CALLED PISTILS,
AND THEY SERVE TO COLLECT POLLEN FROM MALES. PISTILS BEGIN WITH A WHITE COLORATION AND
PROGRESSIVELY DARKEN TO YELLOW, ORANGE, RED, AND BROWN OVER THE COURSE OF THE PLANT’S
MATURATION. THEY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN REPRODUCTION, BUT PISTILS BRING VERY LITTLE TO THE
FLOWER’S POTENCY AND TASTE.
STALK
CENTRAL
STEM OF PLANT
STEM
SUPPORT FOR
FLOWERS
NODE
JOINT WHERE A LEAF
BRANCHES OFF FROM
THE STALK
SEEDS
GROW INTO A
CANNABIS PLANT
FAN LEAF
THE UNOFFICIAL SYMBOL
OF CANNABIS
SUGAR LEAF
SMALL LEAF THAT GROWS
WITHIN THE FLOWER