Contributor: CANNA DAHLIA
The small, glittering bulbs on your cannabis flower contain most of the plant’s cannabinoids and other compounds that deliver the scent and flavor of the cannabis plant.
If you take a look at any cannabis flower and you’ll almost instantly notice the glittery, sticky crystals that coat the plant’s leaves and flower buds. These are what we call trichomes. They are microscopic extensions that contain the majority of the cannabis plant’s cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. These trichomes are what make the cannabis therapeutic, beneficial and they are also what gives it most of its flavor and potency.
What exactly are trichomes?
Trichomes are the small resin glands found on the cannabis plants stalk, flowers and leaves. When viewed under magnification, the trichomes look like top heavy mushrooms with overgrown stalks. Without the aid of magnification however, these resin glands look like glittery, sticky crystals. They are responsible for giving buds their icy appearance.
Trichomes will begin to appear on the cannabis plant as soon as the plant enters their flowering stage. As the plant’s buds begin to appear, the trichomes start to form along the stalk, the leaves and the buds. They then continue to develop and mature until toward the end of the plants lifecycle just before the buds are ready for harvest. Trichomes are precarious and can be damaged by too much handling, in addition to heat, light, and oxygen, so the plants must be handled with care when it comes time to harvest or you could risk damaging the plants trichomes.
Because trichomes are resin filled, when they break, they release the sticky oil inside. This is what gives cannabis buds their stickiness. The more trichomes, the more resin they will release when they are handled. Trichomes offer multiple benefits to the cannabis consumers and connoisseurs; though they’re most often esteemed because they hold the bulk of the compounds that are responsible for cannabis’ effects including the way it smells and tastes.
When compared to the rest of the plant, trichomes contain a much higher concentration of:
- Cannabinoids: The most well-known cannabinoids are; tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC, which is the heady compound that produces calming/happy effects, and cannabidiol also known as CBD which is best known for its pain/inflammation relieving qualities. These cannabinoids interact with your body’s endocannabinoid system. Since having a comparable makeup to the endocannabinoids that are produced naturally by the body, cannabis-derived cannabinoids are able to interact with the endocannabinoid system’s cannabinoid receptors.
- Terpenes: Give cannabis flowers their flavor and tell-tale pungent aroma. Terpenes have also been shown to work with cannabinoids to enhance their natural balancing properties. Terpenes do a lot more than just provide aroma and flavor. They support other cannabinoids to help produce desired effects. The combination of all these is referred to as the entourage effect, and it is the primary reason these compounds have become an important area in cannabis research. The entourage effect is when the proper combination of cannabis compounds proves to be more potent and effective than any one individual or isolated compound.
- Flavonoids: The Flavonoids unique to cannabis are called “canna-flavins.” Flavonoids are phytonutrients, (substances found in certain plants which are believed to be beneficial to human health and help prevent various diseases) that contribute to the coloration of the cannabis, in the very same way as they do with other flowers, as well as contributing to the plants flavor and aroma. The aromas and flavors of cannabis are most often credited to the plant’s terpenes. Flavonoids also play a role in providing distinguished qualities that can be used to differentiate between various strains. Smell and taste are possible in cannabis due to collaborative qualities that terpenes and flavonoids share.
What can trichomes be harvested for?
Cannabis consumers that are interested in increasing their cannabinoid intake (and upping their tolerance level too!) can harvest trichomes and use them to produce the kief or to compress it with heat and make hash. By containing the trichome heads these two concentrates can offer some of the highest potency of nearly all cannabis products available.
Kief: Is the buildup of trichomes typically collected by the everyday consumer usually with an herb grinder (or sometimes a silkscreen if you’re collecting a larger quantity because you’re growing your own medicine.) It is used to separate the kief (trichomes) from the flower, leaving behind a very powerful concentrated form of cannabis that can be consumed by smoking it in a bong, bowl, joint (or however you want to smoke it really) or it can be decarboxylated and added to foods and beverages. My personal favorite use for Kief is making my very own clarified (decarboxylated) kief butter, which you can also find the recipe for here on our site!
Hash: is similar to kief, except that instead of leaving the kief in a lose powder the trichomes are pressed into hard a solid mass. Most commonly made by separating the flower’s trichomes from the plant by hand or dry-sifting with a screen (the exact same way that you harvest kief AKA trichomes), hash can then be consumed via smoking (joints, bongs, pipes…etc.), vaping, dabbing, it can even (after decarboxylation) be infused into food, or added to an herbal tea.
Trichomes are an essential element when it comes to what makes cannabis such a beneficial medicine. You can never know too much about how your medicine works for you! Come back and check in soon for more reviews and cannabis content at: www.lvcannabisreviews.com.
