Why does cannabis produce resin?

VerdantGreen · Dec 29, 2010

not just THC but the whole sticky contents of glandular trics

This is one ive wondered about for a while, many think it is a defense against sun/UV, but it is also produced on stems and underside of leaves. perhaps it is a defense against something else?

one hypothesis that ive always had and liked is that the resin is to attract insects for pollination - because although cannabis is wind pollinated, it would (like all wind pollinated plants) have evolved from insect pollinated plants.

EDIT - i should have said all wind pollinated angiosperms evolved from insect pollinated angiosperms (flowering plants) see later in thread

does anyone know or have any ideas or references ?

thanks,

VG

gertnaerd · Dec 29, 2010

hey man ,,,the resin helps the plant to struggel with different temperatures...in the night when it can get very cold ....the resin "blockstogether<" save the plant to not get very cold ...at daytimes...the resin builds up a bigger surface on the plant....and the heat gets in the resin not that much in the plantcells ....over 40degrees their is #degradation of the cells....so the resin protcts the plant....
have anice day ...sorry for the bad english ...i´m no native speaker...

whodair · Dec 29, 2010

happy 2011 verdantgreen homie !!

happy 2011 verdantgreen homie !!

cannabis produces resin to get us high !!! i also speculate its sunscreen for the plant ??

cheers !!

Corpsey · Dec 29, 2010

if it is for uv protection why do we not see it on all males?

VerdantGreen · Dec 29, 2010

thanks guys

gertnaerd - dont worry about your english, as for cold protection, how about tropical sativa's ?? they dont get cold at all. also cannabis is an annual.

whodair - i think sunscreen is what most would think but i'm not so sure that is not the whole story...

bendoslendo · Dec 29, 2010

You've prolly seen this one, but to name a few from this source: protection from dessication, insect predation and fungal/bacterial infection.

Chemical ecology of Cannabis
David W. Pate
International Hemp Association, Postbus 75007,
1070 AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands

*note that info in this link pertaining to THC biosynthesis is outdated. CBD is not a biosynthetic precursor of THC.

bendoslendo · Dec 29, 2010

yourcorpse said:
if it is for uv protection why do we not see it on all males?

Glandular trichomes are present on males, just not to the degree they are on females.

Males only need to reach maturation and splooge (sorry for the science jargon) into the air. Females are charged with the task of producing and incubating achenes (seeds).

gertnaerd · Dec 29, 2010

hey verdant ...i just mean the differences between night and day....as you know ,the cannabis in marocco for example,at day very heavy sunlight above 1500 m ,at night sometimes temperatures undere 10 degrees, i think in this case the resin is some kind of protection to the extrme climate,,,,perhaps the resin in the more tropical regions is some kind of protection to the humid climate.....but i think there has to be more than one solution...!? cannabis gets us high in so different ways,and such complex ways ...c`´mon there must be more ,ah welll i will read the link ...hehe :thank you:

Corpsey · Dec 29, 2010

so a male with a higher ratio of trichomes would be superior to one with less then? by its act of protecting its pollen better.

I always see people say its intersex traits but others say it is a positive expression that is to be used in breeding programs. im talking about just the tirchs, not pistils.

bigwity · Dec 29, 2010

i noticed when i had thrips that they got stuck to trichs i think it protects the calyx and seed from insects. imo the extra coating protects the most important part of the leaf ie the base and stem, the leafy part can take a bit of damage without killing the leaf where as the formentioned would destroy the leaf if they got hurt

but all your suggestions are possible maybe its to attract humans, it certainly works lmao

bendoslendo · Dec 29, 2010

yourcorpse said:
so a male with a higher ratio of trichomes would be superior to one with less then? by its act of protecting its pollen better.

I don't know if we can say it's superior, I don't know if trichomes on males provide any specific sexual advantage, maybe a longer period of sexual maturity?

Trichs on a male seems like a good breeding characteristic to me, but then again I have no experience with breeding :blowbubbles:

Honkytonk · Dec 29, 2010

A brief thinkalong with Honkytonk...

Most resin can be found on the calyxes. Why?
It does not help with pollination.
It does protect seeds in calyxes.

mriko · Dec 29, 2010

if it is for uv protection why do we not see it on all males?

If i remember correctly, it is not the resin which is a protection against UVs, but the very compound thc and it is that one which is in the plant tissue which act as uv protection.

Irie !

GDK · Dec 29, 2010

Maybe protection of seeds from birds and other animals, ensuring they wont be eaten until fully viable.

Stay Safe

hazeified · Dec 29, 2010

Honkytonk said:
A brief thinkalong with Honkytonk...

Most resin can be found on the calyxes. Why?
It does not help with pollination.
It does protect seeds in calyxes.

deathtosoapbar · Dec 29, 2010

Like bigwity said i think its to help protect the plant from insects, at least that must be part of the reason, a few weeks back i had noticed a few blackflies in the grow room and by the next day they had got stuck on just one pheno of bubblegum, the thing was like a venus fly trap!

Honkytonk · Dec 29, 2010

If one thinks along the lines of UV protection, one has to consider that cannabis plants didn't have such high amounts of trichs before humans selected and bred for them.
Also one needs to answer how other plants 'protect' themselves from UV radiation, shouldn't there be a vast amount of resin covered non-cannabis plants in high UV radiation regions?
Are there?

VerdantGreen · Dec 29, 2010

some good replies guys, i still need to reed the reference, but as for animal/insect protection, if that were true why does every animal/insect from miles around queue up to have a munch on the plants ???

bendoslendo · Dec 29, 2010

Honkytonk said:
If one thinks along the lines of UV protection, one has to consider that cannabis plants didn't have such high amounts of trichs before humans selected and bred for it.
Also one needs to answer how other plants 'protect' themselves from UV radiation, shouldn't there be a vast amount of resin covered non-cannanbis plants in high UV radiation regions?
Are there?

We don't know what cannabis looked like before man, but I don't see how UV protection differs from anti-dessication and anti-predation properties as far as that is concerned.

Often, evolved traits serving a particular purpose to an organism evolved for a different reason, and were co-opted and intensified when a new selective pressure is introduced or a new advantage to fitness is "realized". This is called exaptation or preadaptation.

Attached is a short article on glandular trichomes.

Honkytonk · Dec 29, 2010

Adapt or die.
Bugs evolve.
Tricks that worked in the past to keep bugs away don't necessarily work forever.
See mites, thrips, etc. and their fast developing immunities to things that killed them yesteryear.

Why does cannabis produce resin?

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