If you know anything about the anatomy of a cannabis plant, it’s probably that cannabis buds—what many people call “flower”—are what we humans are most interested in when it comes to enjoying our favorite plant. In fact, the cannabis plant flower is a tiny “medicine factory,” cranking out potent cannabinoids such as THC and CBD as well as synthesizing the aromatic terpenes that give different types of cannabis flower their individual flavors and scents.
In today’s post, we’ll give you a guided tour of the cannabis plant flower, including plenty of resources on our favorite ways to smoke (and vape!) fresh cannabis buds.
Marijuana Plants: Anatomy of a Flowering Factory
For most of its life cycle, the cannabis plant isn’t radically different from similar species. Growing up from a germinated seed, it produces leaves covered in stomas, tiny pores which absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen (O2). It’s when female plants begin flowering—in the wild, that’s typically once the long days of summer start to fade—that things really take off.
Developing over the course of roughly 8 to 11 weeks, those cannabis buds grow from tiny hair-like stigma into the mighty medicine factories we know and love. Here’s a guided tour:
- Flower: As we hinted earlier, the cannabis flower is the main source of beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis. In healthy plants, flowers are heavy and dense, and covered with a potent coating of silvery trichomes.
- Trichomes: These tiny structures are clear, mushroom-shaped glands that produce most of the “active ingredients” in cannabis. This includes the aromatic terpenes that repel insect and fungal pests, as well as medically active cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, CBN, and others still.
Tip: When you’re deciding which cannabis plant flower to buy, you should see a silver- or white-colored dusting of trichomes still coating the bud.
Because they’re so potent, trichomes can also be separated from the cannabis buds to produce more exotic products, including hash and kief.
- Sugar Leaves: These are the tiny structures around which cannabis buds form. Since they’re coated with a sticky and cannabinoid-rich resin, they can be used to make pre-rolls, concentrates, and other potent marijuana products.
- Bracts: These teardrop-shaped leaves surround the female cannabis plant’s reproductive organs. While they only constitute a tiny proportion of the total weight of the cannabis plant, they contain the highest concentration of cannabinoids, making them an extremely valuable aspect of the cannabis ecosystem.
- Colas: Sometimes known as “bud sites,” colas are clusters of female flowers growing tightly together.
Now you have the rundown on the cannabis plant flower anatomy. So, what can you do with it once it’s been harvested? Let us count the ways.
Enjoying Cannabis Buds: Pipes, Joints, Vapes, and More
While there are seemingly boundless ways we can enjoy fresh cannabis flower, for the purposes of today’s post we’re going to stick with two of the most popular: Smoking and vaping cannabis buds, as well as some of their most common variations.
Smoking Cannabis Buds
For most of us, smoking is the most common way to access marijuana. It’s simple and intuitive, and it results in a very fast onset time—that is, the amount of time it takes for the cannabis to actually take effect. Here are some of the most common variations:
- Pipes: Cannabis is typically ground or crumbled and smoked through a hand pipe, a water pipe (aka “bong”), or some other device that allows you to ignite the plant matter with a match, lighter, or wick, and then to inhale the smoke it produces. As we mentioned a moment ago, using a pipe is a fast-acting and relatively efficient way to interact with cannabis.
Why grind it first? When it’s processed into tiny chunks, the dried flower tends to burn more evenly, allowing you to access more of those potent cannabinoids and terpenes.
- Joints: A tightly rolled marijuana cigarette containing ground cannabis buds, joints offer the same fast-acting effects as smoking through pipes. That said, they tend to be somewhat more wasteful than pipes, as they continue burning even when they’re not being drawn upon. That said, many people feel that joints are more fun to share with friends. (We agree!)
As simple and expedient as pipes and joints are, for those of us with sensitive lungs, smoking may not be the best option. While studies suggest that smoking cannabis is far less harmful than tobacco, any kind of smoke can still irritate airways. Fortunately, there’s an alternative: Vaping.
Vaping Cannabis Plant Flower: The High-Tech Approach
Vaping is a relatively modern innovation, though its roots go back many hundreds of years. In ancient Egypt, people heated various herbs and oils over hot stones to create a crude tabletop vape. And beginning at least a few hundred years ago, creative patrons in India developed the shisha, a water pipe which filters tobacco or cannabis smoke through H2O, to create an effect roughly similar to vaping.
Modern vaporizers heat ground cannabis buds to the point at which the cannabinoids become volatile, but not to the point at which they produce smoke. Instead, they emit a cooling mist that’s far easier on the lungs. Like smoking cannabis, the effects of vaping are just as fast-acting and easy to use. All that’s required is filling up the combustion chamber with finely-ground cannabis buds, then pressing a button to bring the heating element up to temperature.
Here’s one thing to be aware of, though. If you’ve ever used a vape pen or similar device, you’re vaporizing a potent cannabis extract, not ground cannabis plant flower. Either vaping methodology provides access to the benefits of cannabis, but if you’re looking to work directly with cannabis plant flower, you’ll need a vaporizer that’s typically a little more involved than the basic pen-style device.
The Cannabis Plant Flower: Wrapping It All Up
Needless to say, there are many other ways to consume cannabis buds, and in upcoming posts we’ll share a few of our favorites. For the moment, we hope today’s post deepens your knowledge and sparks your curiosity about cannabis buds, the fascinating “medicine factories” of the marijuana plant. If you have any other questions about the cannabis plant flower—or any other marijuana-related topics—please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re always here to help!
