How to distinguish the sex of a Cannabis plant?

It is important to know how to distinguish a female plant from a male one or to be able to immediately identify a hermaphrodite. Below is all the information you need to immediately understand what sex your plant is.

Male cannabis plants

When male cannabis plants finish maturing, the flowering process occurs throughout the plant. Small racemes (short flower stalks) form at the base of the flower itself. As the flowers open, the plant releases a load of airborne pollen that adheres to and is absorbed by the pistil of the female plant.

Male cannabis plant

This is a basic explanation of how fertilization and the reproductive process work in cannabis plants. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between male and female plants, but the male usually has early sexual development.

Female cannabis plants

Like male cannabis plants, mature females will also produce racemes. In the case of female plants, the racemes are a mixture of small pistils and calyxes. In each of the calyxes there is an ovule, which serves as a receptor for the pollen of the male plant.

When pollen grains attach to a pistil, the pistil stalk then pushes into the calyx and the plant is fertilized. The calyx itself is also the site where cannabis seeds are grown after fertilization.

Female cannabis plant

Each seed will have a mix of characteristics from both mother plants, as in other cases of sexual reproduction. The only case in which this would not be the case is if the mother plants were identical, as in the case of some pure clones or specific hybridizations.

Hermaphroditic cannabis plants

Although rare as a natural occurrence in nature, many growers may be exposed to the existence of hermaphroditic plants , that is, plants that contain both male and female sexual organs. These types of plants can fertilize themselves, which is extremely interesting and potentially very useful from a breeding perspective.

In general if the plant consists mostly of male flowers or has approximately equal numbers of male/female flowers, it is probably of little use to a grower. If the hermaphrodite has mainly female flowers, however, it should definitely be saved.

Hermaphroditic plant

In fact, the pollen from these plants can be very useful, and some growers collect it because even though it is a male part of reproduction, hermaphroditic pollen is genetically female and will produce female flowers.

In the 1970s, Indica varieties were brought to the USA and mixed with the already present Sativa plants, which began a long chain of breeding and experimentation with cannabis cultivation and hybridization.

It is important to note that despite the differences between all of these types of marijuana, they are essentially one species. They can always be grown together. The names Indica and Sativa refer to the areas of origin of the plants.

The same kind of idea is found in other agricultural breeds, or dog breeds, where there is a big difference in appearances, but the species are still the same.

All information contained is for informational and educational purposes only. We urge all users not to make any practical use of this information in connection with cannabis seeds. In fact, let us remember that:

In Italy the cultivation of cannabis seeds is prohibited (Art. 28 and 73 of Presidential Decree 309/90) if you do not have a specific authorization (Art. 17 Presidential Decree 309/90)

Therefore, cannabis seeds may be used exclusively for collecting purposes and for genetic preservation and are marketed with the reservation that they are not used by third parties in conflict with the law. Cannabis seeds are excluded from Presidential Decree 309/90, which means that they are not to be considered narcotic substances (L. 412 of 1974, Art. 1, Paragraph 1, Letter B; New York single convention on narcotics of 1961 and table 1 Ministry of Health decree 11 April 2006).