WHAT ABOUT THE MALE CANNABIS PLANT?

What about the Male Plant?

The Male Cannabis plant, like human males are often completely misunderstood.

Most people who grow Cannabis will pluck out any male plants the minute they reveal their gender with those puffy little white balls so many people unlove to spot. These days you get feminised seeds so you hardly ever see a male plant especially not in an indoor growing environment.  In any event most growers feel that male plants can destroy their crop.

So there are not many people who have grown male plants to maturity so ii believe that it is necessary to let the male grow in order to establish his true potential.

Good males make good Daddies…

It is essential to have good quality male Cannabis plants for any breeding program. Males provide pollen to the females and in so doing contribute half of the DNA that will make up future generations. A lot of growers will tell you that the potency of the male plant affects the potency of the female offspring.

So without the males there would be no pollination.

Males do serve an evolutionary purpose…

Botanists agree that dioecy discusses a selective advantage in certain plant populations as it ensures the chance of genetic recombination which means that the offspring will produce traits that differ from both parents.

In monoecious or hermaphrodite plants both male and female sex organs are produced by the same plant and if it self- pollinates then it will produce offspring whose DNA is identical to the parent. This lack of variation can quickly lead to inbreeding and a weakened genetic population. Fortunately most hermaphrodite species have built-in genetic graces which prevent self-pollination.

A strong and healthy male population is required to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the species.

Males are more potent than you think…

A lot of people think that the male Cannabis plant does not contain Cannabinoids but this is completely untrue. There are many studies going back to the 1970’s documenting Cannabinoid content of male and female Cannabis plants found in various places in the world.

It is true that in general the female plant has a higher concentration of Cannabinoids but males also revealed significant concentrations. In numerous studies it was established that the Cannabinoid content of male flowers was generally lower than that of female flowers but higher than that of female leaves. So the point is that male plants in fact do contain all the Cannabinoids.

Male trichomes are real…

Male plants express their trichomes most abundantly on the sepals, the anther and the small upper leaves and this is where the male Cannabis plant safe keeps its euphoric properties for mankind.

Stalked glands also cover the tepals as well as the stamen filament. Large sessile glands are found in the grooves running down each side of the anther and packed in between with grains of pollen.

Just like with female flowers the strain also plays an important role in the potency of male flowers.

Pollen which has been dried and pressed or treated like any other resin extraction will definitely put you on a buzz proving that male trichomes do contain THC.

It is quite interesting to note that during the vegetative stage males actually exhibit higher concentration of THC in their leaves than the females do.  It is only during the adult stages that the female develops a higher ratio of THC. 

Unfortunately the male does have a shorter life span and you would have to ask your friendly Rastafari Brother or Sister to share their secrets of their known techniques to enhance resin production and delay pollination. They know how.

Males make good juicing buddies…

Whether you juice male or female Cannabis plants you basically get the same effect and both share the same characteristics in their raw healing benefits. All the acid profiles are the same and both are rich in antioxidants and phenols. 

The human body responds very well to raw green foods and quite frankly Cannabis is fast becoming the vital vegetable it actually is. There are very little psychoactive properties in the raw plant material but ii certainly have known many people who derived a certain high from Cannabis juicing.

Males clean up pretty good…

When Cannabis is grown as hemp this is where the male plants really outshine the females. The male plants are singled out for use in production of finer fabrics like linen, tablecloths, clothing etc. where the females planted as hemp would be used for the more coarse products like rope, canvas and sackcloth.

The male fibres were considered to be finer and softer than female fibres but not as strong. According to ancient Chinese texts they considered the male hemp fibre to be the best and they have been working with Cannabis for over 5000 years now.

The root of the matter…

Just as the leaves and stems of male plants can be used for hash and juices the roots are also very valuable. Again we can talk to the Chinese and they have records of using male Cannabis roots which date back to as far as 2700 BC.

Cannabis roots also contain Cannabinoids and the Chinese praised their benefits as a pain reliever and also mentioned the coagulant properties.

Cannabis root also contain other compounds like Friedelin which a liver protecting antioxidant. Other components include Epifriedelanol which prevents tumour growth and also a substance called Pentacyclic Triterpenes which has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties.

A devoted human companion plant…

In The Consciousness of the Cannabis Plant ii shared a story about a deformed lady who had an intimate relationship with a male Cannabis plant and this led to her healing and subsequent marriage to a real man. In so doing the male Cannabis plant proved himself worthy to be known as The Human Companion Plant in an extraordinary way.

So just like human males the male Cannabis Plant is not completely useless and actually you are probably surprised that he also has many uses besides simply being tossed on the compost heap or providing pollen to make new seeds which is also kind of important.

SOURCES:

420 Intel.com

420 Magazine

Xhosa styles.com