When humans had not yet established a relationship with cannabis, all plants of this species were monoecious, that is, they contained flowers of both sexes. It was the human hand that began to break up females and males when he realized that the most interesting were those of the female sex, and that today most commercial varieties are dioecious. Can you tell the difference between a male and female cannabis plant? Do you know the uses of male cannabis today? Well this article is about that, so read carefully because you are interested.
During the vegetative growth phase, male and female marijuana plants are virtually identical, and the only visually significant difference is that the males stretch more than females, as if they were doped for lack of light. They do this to try to always get bigger than the females and thus be able to pollinate by gravity.
Once they start to bloom, it is very easy to differentiate the male cannabis females, because the male pre-flowers are like little balls called stamens, which are in fact pollen sacs that will gradually develop. The pre-flowers of the females are different, in this case they look like hairs which are normally white, they are called pistils and 2 come out of each calyx.
If you allow flowering to continue, you will see that the male marijuana forms small clusters of sacs which, when mature, open and release pollen. On the other hand, the females produce their famous buds, which are nothing other than the accumulation of calyxes which protect the seeds when they are pollinated, and if they are not pollinated they become very fat.
Another easily noticeable difference between male and female cannabis is the amount of resin that they produce. You will see that the females generate a large amount of trichomes both in the buds and in the leaves closest to them, while in male marijuana, it is difficult to find specimens that resin a lot.
Male and female marijuana, other differences
Female plants normally give off a very intense aroma during flowering, especially during the fattening and bud ripening phase. On the contrary, male cannabis barely smells, unless you rub her stems and smell her fingers, it is very difficult to judge whether she smells good or not, and they usually don’t smell more than females before flowering.
Sometimes you find male individuals who smell great and good from the moment they start to flower, and even have the ability to produce a lot of resin, but they usually end up being hermaphrodite marijuana.
⛳ Can male cannabis be smoked?
Yes you smoke the flowers of a male cannabis plant, you will understand why only female heads are smoked, because the taste has nothing to do with that of a good head. This is due to the low amount of resin normally produced by males, as well as the taste of the pollen itself contained in male cannabis flowers.
If you find a male with resin and want to smoke him, there is a good way that the pollen doesn’t spoil the flavor, and that is by making a dry extraction or using solvents. For this you need alcohol, gas, or sieves of different lengths, one of about 150 microns, which separates the plant material, and at least another of about 45 microns so that the pollen is filtered and that the trichomes are clean.
✨ Effects of male cannabis
If they don’t have resin, they don’t smash, or at least not with pleasant effects. There is a very beautiful phrase in the world of cannabis that says ” The nature is wise, the male does not knock” referring to the male of marijuana but also as an allusion to sexist abuse. But it does, it does not normally cause noticeable psychoactive or physical effects.
On the other hand, if you do what I told you before extracting the resin mechanically or with solvents, then the effects of male marijuana plants can be remarkable, and they can become like those of females.
🚀 Male cannabis seeds
In recent years, the majority of growers of home-grown marijuana have been buying feminized seeds, among others for the convenience and economy of not removing male specimens, but are there male marijuana seeds as such? The answer is no, there are no “masculinized” seeds, although they can be made.
To find male cannabis plants, you need to sow regular seeds, also known as standard or natural. These are the original seeds, and therefore can emerge both females and males, and also hermaphrodites or intersex.
✅ What is male cannabis used for?
- Polinization: The most important mission that males of cannabis have today is to pollinate female specimens to produce seeds. The seeds of a cross between male and female marijuana will always be regular.
- Industrial: In industrial cultivation of hemp of dioecious varieties to obtain fibers, male plants have the same utility as females, since they are mainly used by the stems, which are the same.
- Medicinal: Although it is much less interesting than females for this task, many people take advantage of male cannabis to extract cannabinoids and then use them for medicinal purposes. Marijuana roots have also been used lately for their therapeutic benefits, and in this case, it doesn’t matter if they come from females, males or hermaphrodites.
🎯 Male cannabis, real photos
Below you can see photos with several examples of the evolution of male cannabis plants, from the presentation of pre-flowers until they open and release pollen, passing through the fattening phase of these.
👾 Conclusion
Today we saw the different uses that can be given to male cannabis, solved some doubts, and above all we reviewed the differences between male and female marijuana plants. Now, I am sure you are perfectly able to distinguish the different sexes of our beloved plant, but if you have any questions, let us know, we will try to solve them.
Fran Quesada Moya
Pevgrow editor, cannabis activist and fanatic in all its fields, especially the breeding and development of new strains.
See more posts
