Why purple?

[Burro Johnson]

i know not all purple plants are like this

but i've noticed when studying marijuana that some purple plants put more energy into being purple than being frosty

thc = defense mechanism for bugs in a situation where people dont breed it for specific effects

purple = ???

whats your best guess as to why plants turn purple from an evolutionary standpoint or why its such common expression even when given limited variety

 

[JetLife175]

i know not all purple plants are like this

but i've noticed when studying marijuana that some purple plants put more energy into being purple than being frosty

thc = defense mechanism for bugs in a situation where people dont breed it for specific effects

purple = ???

whats your best guess as to why plants turn purple from an evolutionary standpoint or why its such common expression even when given limited variety

There are alleles that are triggered in certain conditions that promote the production of anthrocyanins which is the purple coloration you see.

There are some genetic pools that express this dominantly, or as a part of their maturation process without said conditional triggers.

My assumption is that the trait was selected by man over time as it’s one of the easiest to identify when doing a selection. I’m talking millennia ago.

Kind of what is happening now with all the purple cookie hybrids we are seeing.

 

[Burro Johnson]

There are alleles that are triggered in certain conditions that promote the production of anthrocyanins which is the purple coloration you see.

There are some genetic pools that express this dominantly, or as a part of their maturation process without said conditional triggers.

My assumption is that the trait was selected by man over time as it’s one of the easiest to identify when doing a selection. I’m talking millennia ago.

Kind of what is happening now with all the purple cookie hybrids we are seeing.

sounds kool, so u think its just a freak occurence that people have bred towards?

i suppose without any wild population to observe and how the color purple effects its relationship to its environment compared to its green counterparts it might be hard to know for sure...

i was thinking it may have given it an advantage in one way or another

thanks for your reply

 

[Burro Johnson]

my guess as to why some strains are purple is due to the fact that often times when a plant is colored purple its terpenes can vary drastically on average within a certain variety

perhaps it was the occurence of a different color that gave way to a difference in terpenes that allowed for a different aroma

maybe this relationship between colors and flavors happened far back enough and is a resourceful enough evolutionary occurence to be utilized by marijuana in the past and in recent generations

maybe not just for marijuana the genetic occurence of purple can help other plants survive and evolve differently if it has the proper utility

in what way the smell may impact their environment?

the most notable would be to ward off pests

just a theory

 

[Burro Johnson]

perhaps the type terpenes of wild plants within a locale is determined by the volatile oils that drive off the pests in that specific area

 

[CannaRed]

It's not only terpenes. Theres also a compound called methyl anthranilate that seems to be common with anthocyanin heavy strains.
It's why alot of purple strains smell a grapey purple.
It's the flavoring ingredient in grape Kool aid, grape Jolly Ranchers, and such. It's actually found in Concord grapes but wasn't discovered in the grapes until after it was being used as artificial grape flavoring. Lol
It's also used as a bird repellent.

 

[prune]

Why purple? so people with a low tolerance for THC have something to smoke...

 

[Burro Johnson]

two things

It's not only terpenes. Theres also a compound called methyl anthranilate that seems to be common with anthocyanin heavy strains.
It's why alot of purple strains smell a grapey purple.
It's the flavoring ingredient in grape Kool aid, grape Jolly Ranchers, and such. It's actually found in Concord grapes but wasn't discovered in the grapes until after it was being used as artificial grape flavoring. Lol
It's also used as a bird repellent.

1. lol at the grapes

2. bird repellant, bingo

kool correlation thank you for your reply

 

[roybart]

Maybe its to attract pollinators, like humming birds go to red anything

 

[Burro Johnson]

Maybe its to attract pollinators, like humming birds go to red anything

or maybe its because plants have personalities and the ones that grow purple do so in order to indicate their passion for prince

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rblt2EtFfC4

just a theory

 

[JetLife175]

or maybe its because plants have personalities and the ones that grow purple do so in order to indicate their passion for prince

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rblt2EtFfC4

just a theory

Case fucking closed bro. You cracked it.

We can close this bitch down now.


Hahahahahahhaha.

 

[Benny106]

Anthocyanin acts like antifreeze.

 

[HAZENACIOUS]

I think its possible that purple is a mutation that appears to have proliferated in cold areas, I believe the darker color of purple converts more light to heat than green, and this may be why you find the original purple plants tend to be from higher colder regions, as an adaptation to help the plant survive in colder climates.

 

[djonkoman]

Anthocyanin acts like antifreeze.

this. it's pretty common among plants, not just weed, to make (more) anthocyanins in reaction to certain stresses. especially against cold temperatures.
I'm not sure exactly how it does it's job, but it protects plants from such environments apparently.

 

[therevverend]

There's a distinction between plants that are purple from the start and plants that turn purple as a reaction to stress, especially cold and low lighting. Sunlight turns plants purple, I've seen quite a few plants that are green in their shaded parts and purple where the direct sun hits. Last autumn one of the last buds I harvested was half purple and half green, right down the middle. The side facing the sun was purple and the side facing away was green.

Another plant had it's stalk broke so it was girdled halfway down. The part above the break turned purple and the half below stayed green. If the plant in the pictures above or the girdled plant were grown indoors they'd be considered green strains and you'd never guess they had the potential to turn purple. It's actually rare to find a strain that's truly green, doesn't show any purpling as a reaction to stress.

 

[Burro Johnson]

completely green plant = one type of terps

completely purple plant = one type of terps

but

half green and half purple = two types of terps

being purple seems to have many facets, which isn't surprising when you think about one of the most diverse and commonly studied plants

it seems to be genetic aswell as environmental

in a way it would be safe to say that if you examined purple plants seperately from their green siblings of a similar population then you could imagine them evolving and developing the traits that suit their survival the best as purple plants independently, you could say the same thing if you only ever examined green plants of a certain variety and watched as it adapted to a specific environment

to examine the relationship of what the best of both worlds has to offer and evaluate the strengths to be had from an elite green vs elite purple pairing when the expression is split equally gives a greater understanding of what it means to "knead the dough"

like the moon agitating the ocean

genetic changes like being purple have been a trigger in stimulating a combination of different strengths over time

surely it goes without saying being purple is kool

but if thats not a testament to the raw evolutionary strength of marijuana then i dont know what is

thanks again everybody for the replies this has been a great thread.

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

Anthocyanin is a Flavonoid not a terpene.
FYI Flavonoids are deactivated by the heat of smoking or Vaping.
They are active orally when eaten.
-SamS

my guess as to why some strains are purple is due to the fact that often times when a plant is colored purple its terpenes can vary drastically on average within a certain variety

perhaps it was the occurence of a different color that gave way to a difference in terpenes that allowed for a different aroma

maybe this relationship between colors and flavors happened far back enough and is a resourceful enough evolutionary occurence to be utilized by marijuana in the past and in recent generations

maybe not just for marijuana the genetic occurence of purple can help other plants survive and evolve differently if it has the proper utility

in what way the smell may impact their environment?

the most notable would be to ward off pests

just a theory

 

[CannaRed]

These are purple from the start, irregardless of temp

This turned purple late into bloom. Still irregardless of temperature, but wasn't purple from the start. Like Rev said, this plant only turned purple where it was in direct light of 315 CMH

 

[Sunshineinabag]

i know not all purple plants are like this

but i've noticed when studying marijuana that some purple plants put more energy into being purple than being frosty

thc = defense mechanism for bugs in a situation where people dont breed it for specific effects

purple = ???

whats your best guess as to why plants turn purple from an evolutionary standpoint or why its such common expression even when given limited variety

I've noticed locally frost was causing some purples....but never realized folks breed for purple. Gage green had a grape stomper that's pretty purple tastes wise.

 

[Burro Johnson]

Anthocyanin is a Flavonoid not a terpene.
FYI Flavonoids are deactivated by the heat of smoking or Vaping.
They are active orally when eaten.
-SamS

i hear you big boss

im from the streets so the words flavors/terpenes are all the same to me just like kush means indica and haze means sativa but i can usually tell what people are talking about when i study their words carefully

the purple effecting the edibility seems to follow suit with the whole olfactory sensation im sure comes along with being a bug/pest trying to take a bite out of a ripening seed, much like the oils and other defense mechanisms of a similar "chemical" degree

good to your reply