CONJECTURE: HERMAPHRODITISM IN CANNABIS - A HUMAN-INDUCED PHENOMENON?

[Verdant Whisperer]

​

The cannabis plant, with its intricate history of human interaction, has witnessed notable shifts in its genetic composition over the past century. A noteworthy change is the increase in hermaphroditic traits, where a single plant exhibits both male and female reproductive structures. While these insights are speculative and not empirically validated, they present a thought-provoking perspective on the potential influence of two interconnected factors: the prohibition of cannabis and unsustainable breeding practices.

Prohibition's Potential Impact on Cannabis Diversity:

Speculatively, it is conceivable that the prohibition of cannabis might have led to extensive eradication efforts, potentially reducing the number of naturally occurring cannabis plants. In regions where cannabis was once abundant, the surviving plants might have been those cultivated for specific purposes, potentially leading to a reduction in genetic diversity.

Domestication Without Hypothesized Breeding Practices:

In this speculative scenario, as cannabis became domesticated, it might have encountered pressures favoring certain traits, such as high THC content or specific growth characteristics. However, without a robust understanding or consideration of genetic diversity, growers might have selected seeds from their best-performing plants, potentially perpetuating a limited genetic pool.

Potential Consequence: Hermaphroditism:

In this speculative narrative, a significant consequence of rapid domestication without proper breeding practices could be the potential rise in hermaphroditic tendencies. The increased likelihood of plants exhibiting both male and female reproductive organs might be attributed to inbreeding and the selection of traits from a limited genetic pool.

The Hypothetical Role of Hermaphroditism in Cannabis Cultivation:

Hermaphroditic cannabis plants, if they were to proliferate, could pose hypothetical challenges for cultivators. They might have the potential to self-pollinate, leading to potential seeds within the flower buds. While this scenario is speculative and not based on factual data, it may serve as a thought experiment to consider potential consequences.

Conclusion:

While these speculative insights present an intriguing perspective on the potential influence of human actions on cannabis genetics, it is essential to emphasize that they are not based on empirical evidence. Instead, they offer a theoretical framework for considering the potential impact of prohibition and uninformed breeding practices. Moving forward, informed breeding practices and a deeper understanding of the genetic diversity of cannabis will be crucial for its sustainable cultivation and preservation.

 

[Mattbho]

Speculation

 

[Old Piney]

There is no doubt that domestic cannabis has had great influence by humans and without a doubt there is a blur between escaped naturalized domesticated cannabis and wild stands, if they even exist. In my opinion the prevalence of hermaphrodite of more properly dioecious cannabis plants is mostly induced by indoor cultivation with artificial lighting .in all the 40+ years I've been growing outside I've never had one dioecious cannabis plant.The majority of species of plants are dioecious .The few exceptions or plants that are monoecious ( having separate sexes for each plant ) that come to my mind are cannabis , holley, asparagus and cannabis cousin hops . My opinion is prohibition has led the the prevalence of indoors cultivation and a surge in problems with hermaphrodite plants. I can see how dioecious plants present a challenge to breeding but almost all other domestic plant are and have advanced quite well .again I haven't had to cull one hermaphrodite ever so I shouldn't say .

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

There is no doubt that domestic cannabis has had great influence by humans and without a doubt there is a blur between escaped naturalized domesticated cannabis and wild stands, if they even exist. In my opinion the prevalence of hermaphrodite of more properly dioecious cannabis plants is mostly induced by indoor cultivation with artificial lighting .in all the 40+ years I've been growing outside I've never had one dioecious cannabis plant.The majority of species of plants are dioecious .The few exceptions or plants that are monoecious ( having separate sexes for each plant ) that come to my mind are cannabis , holley, asparagus and cannabis cousin hops . My opinion is prohibition has led the the prevalence of indoors cultivation and a surge in problems with hermaphrodite plants. I can see how dioecious plants present a challenge to breeding but almost all other domestic plant are and have advanced quite well .again I haven't had to cull one hermaphrodite ever so I shouldn't say .

Not trying to change this thread into an indoor growing hate thread, but the more i learn about cannabis the more i despise the idea of indoor growing,I started indoors, but now i realize the flavors and eletric cost and effects of sun made buds is uncompareable, indoors potent but its effects arent natural, making Frankenstein strains with unnatural terpene profiles. its a shame some places this is the only option for some.

 

[Old Piney]

Not trying to change this thread into an indoor growing hate thread, but the more i learn about cannabis the more i despise the idea of indoor growing,I started indoors, but now i realize the flavors and eletric cost and effects of sun made buds is uncompareable, indoors potent but its effects arent natural, making Frankenstein strains with unnatural terpene profiles. its a shame some places this is the only option for some.

Indoor growing definitely has it place and is valuable and covenant in cannabis preservation. The indoor grows I see here in ICMAG are amazing I don't have anything against any kind of breeding. But for me preservation of land races and heirlooms is were its at , use every tool we got !

 

[Lugo]

Ahem...Cannabis is naturally hermaphroditic. Its a built in survival mechanism.

Now if in our rush to exploit the plant with sloppy and uninformed breeding practices and unreasonable expectations, well the perceived problem is definetely exacerbated and/or more visible.

With prohibition or without our aims have always been the same. Max yields, bigger, stronger, faster like that "dude" im not even going to mention.

Take any landrace for example. As 'pure' as unadulturated as possible. Germinate some seeds, find a female and just let her go. Assuming in this example there are no males around, she will self-pollinate in order to survive and save her species until; like that Johnny Cash song says: "the man comes around" jaja


Isn't that what we used to call Rodelization?

Fear of a herm planet is/was born from the ever evolving (to not say then ignorant) indoor bigger, stronger, faster scene. Hopefully were all getting on the same page somehow with so much access to information.

Hope you guys don't mind me chiming in!

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

Take any landrace for example. As 'pure' as unadulturated as possible. Germinate some seeds, find a female and just let her go. Assuming in this example there are no males around, she will self-pollinate in order to survive and save her species until;

So in others word's your idea is humans are responsible for increase in hermaphordites just in a diferent way by culling all the males and making sin-semilla? and i understand cannabis has naturally hermaphroditic tendenscies when stressed, but it would interesting to think what kind of impact humans could have had on this, and how likely where strains to hermie over a 100 years ago compared with today, it would be interesting to know this.

 

[Old Piney]

I believe hermaphrodites are naturally a last-ditch effort by the plant to reproduce if no males are present. This response is usually late in flowering (if the plant is not stressed )after most of us harvest .It's better to have cross-pollination and nature is no dummy. It seems likely to me that repeated selection of plants lacking this response should be reducing hermaphrodites if anything

 

[OldCoolSativa]

Here's my contrarian speculation, for what it's worth (which is absolutely nothing): breeding cannabis (particularly equatorial and tropical sativas) away from hermaphroditic traits has adversely impacted the quality of its psychoactivity. Exhibit A: Trip weed was a real thing in certain landraces in the 1970s, when few were culling hermaphrodites; now trip weed is gone when most everybody culls hermaphrodites.

Prove me wrong.

 

[zaprjaques]

@OldCoolSativa Possibly.
Also seeded weed has different effects compared to sinsemilla.
And probably the herb of yore was from a wider genepool with the odd freaky plant once in a while that maybe looked like crap but nobody culled it and it could have the trippiest effects.
nowadays everybody can picture the 'perfect' plant, the structure, the smells, the 'frost' the thc levels etc. if something doesnt come close people will throw it away which is probably a shame. same could go for intersex plants. oh noes, it pollinated my whole closet! off with its head!

 

[troutman]

Keep using feminized LGBT seeds and think you're saving the gene pool.

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

Here's my contrarian speculation, for what it's worth (which is absolutely nothing): breeding cannabis (particularly equatorial and tropical sativas) away from hermaphroditic traits has adversely impacted the quality of its psychoactivity. Exhibit A: Trip weed was a real thing in certain landraces in the 1970s, when few were culling hermaphrodites; now trip weed is gone when most everybody culls hermaphrodites.

Prove me wrong.

This would apply to thai landraces specifically known to hermie and have a trippy effect, you bring up an interesting point that would have never crossed my mind. also i believe there is a link with psycoactivity and plant stress, plants that recieve more stress theoretically should have more cytotoxic monoterpenes tp aid in stress response which contribute to trippy effect. this could be why plants that are bred well like yourlandraces acclimated to its enviroement causing less stress, and developing less cytotoxic terpenes and more terpenes related to auxins such as sesquiterpenes which are less psychoactive in general compared to most monoterpenes. if you want more trippy effect it might worth be experimenting with spraying ABA early and mid flower to induce more stress response in the plant. PS i joined community a little over a month ago and i really like the group here, good people!, I posted on another forum and the people where rude compared to IC mag, looking forward to being a part of your community.

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

Also seeded weed has different effects compared to sinsemilla.

Had no idea, good info, it makes sense

 

[FletchF.Fletch]

Speculative Insights = Conjecture

Sounds fun, I'll play along.

Hemaphroditism exists in the gene pool. If not selected against, it becomes more common. Generally speaking it is a stress response. Change from expected/adapted environment, under or over fertile soil, overcrowding, even complete lack of Males can cause hermaphrodites.

 

[Hammerhead]

Hermaphroditism in cannabis was not man made. Poor selection affects herm dominance. Hermaphroditism in cannabis is normal to the species. It's poorly understood and should be something to look into much more. 95% of all the 70s imported weed was seeded. Cannabis of old had way more herms. Some of the plants we grew were heavily seeded from intersex..

 

[Mattbho]

There is no doubt that domestic cannabis has had great influence by humans and without a doubt there is a blur between escaped naturalized domesticated cannabis and wild stands, if they even exist. In my opinion the prevalence of hermaphrodite of more properly dioecious cannabis plants is mostly induced by indoor cultivation with artificial lighting .in all the 40+ years I've been growing outside I've never had one dioecious cannabis plant.The majority of species of plants are dioecious .The few exceptions or plants that are monoecious ( having separate sexes for each plant ) that come to my mind are cannabis , holley, asparagus and cannabis cousin hops . My opinion is prohibition has led the the prevalence of indoors cultivation and a surge in problems with hermaphrodite plants. I can see how dioecious plants present a challenge to breeding but almost all other domestic plant are and have advanced quite well .again I haven't had to cull one hermaphrodite ever so I shouldn't say .

40 years no unexplained seeds?? You are lucky

 

[Old Piney]

40 years no unexplained seeds?? You are lucky

So have always had some some seed making going on with a little stray pollen here and there so I wouldn't know but I've never seen a male flower on a female

 

[Old Piney]

Hermaphroditism in cannabis was not man made. Poor selection affects herm dominance. Hermaphroditism in cannabis is normal to the species. It's poorly understood and should be something to look into much more. 95% of all the 70s imported weed was seeded. Cannabis of old had way more herms. Some of the plants we grew were heavily seeded from intersex..

I agree that hemarphoditsm is not man made and normal in cannabis but I don't believe it was as prevalent as you think in outdoor cultivation back in the day .The import weed of the 70s was seeded because the farmers failed to cull the males in time, the seeds were mature and embedded deep in the buds from early pollination .seeds resulting from late-season hermi pollination would be mostly immature and located more on the outside of the buds that's not what I remember

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

I agree that hemarphoditsm is not man made and normal in cannabis but I don't believe it was as prevalent as you think in outdoor cultivation back in the day .The import weed of the 70s was seeded because the farmers failed to cull the males in time, the seeds were mature and embedded deep in the buds from early pollination .seeds resulting from late-season hermi pollination would be mostly immature and located more on the outside of the buds that's not what I remember

it makes sense. I am ordering some seeds soon from east africa genes i want to try the kwale sativa after fresh batch comes in torwards ends of october based on their growing season in kenya, and i asked him specifcally for the seeds on the insides of the buds for that reasons, because it makes more sense logically. the inside seeds are more likely to be from true males. than hermie females, i noticed growing last african landraces the true males showed earlier than the True Hermies and this makes sense looking at male and female outdoor flowering how males initiate sooner.

 

[exoticrobotic]

Surely hermaphrodism exists naturally in all Cannabis and must have been it's natural starting point otherwise it would likely not be here today.

Dioeciousness comes from our selections and the way we grow and observe plants.

Hemaphroditism exists in the gene pool. If not selected against, it becomes more common. Generally speaking it is a stress response. Change from expected/adapted environment, under or over fertile soil, overcrowding, even complete lack of Males can cause hermaphrodites.

I agree but is it a stress response or a built in survival insurance?