The Evolution of the Trichome

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the trichome. I know that light is the most important thing to a plant, whether that be low or high light levels... light is still the most important thing, not just to plants, but to all life on this planet. Whether you are religous or not, light is the creator of life.

I argued this point, without ever fully understanding why. Then, Your Grandfather (already an esteemed member of the site), helped me make a connection, if indeed it was just a connection as he seemed very positive of his words.

To get to the truth I have travelled back in time to the birth of the cannabis plant. It stands to reason that trichomes were a later evolutionary development... I won't go into the reasons why here, as it would take too long and move too far from the point.

It is presently believed that trich's are primarily there as a protective barrier to parasites. I believe this is wrong. I believe trich's were primarily created to harness light. This makes the most sense to me...

At first the cannabis plant would have grown larger fan leaves in an effort to capture the suns rays. Maybe the plant used to finish much earlier, only dropping a handful of seed. The plant realised that it would need to grow bigger, to produce more seed, and the fan leaves are not good enough at getting the best out of the available light...

So with the fan leaves incapable of harnessing enough light... especially as the autumn comes in. The plant creates glands, or organs that we know as trichomes to help do a better job.

These early glands/trich's help magnify the rays of the sun, so the plant has access to a more intense light source. Not only that, but at an essential time of development. Now the plant can grow much bigger during the flowering period, or when the sun is at its lessening intensity. This is not about nature controlling the plant's growth, but about the plant getting the best out of what nature has to offer.

Once low light levels (ie, moonlight) are put in motion, the plant uses the light stored throughout the day to continue growth rates, and produce new fresh trichomes in preparation for whatever sunlight might be available the next day.

It has also been suggested that trichomes are a means to stop transpiration. I believe this to be wrong also.

If trich's were there for that reason, then they would put in a show long before the second week of flower... during the summer months when the sun is at its most intense would be most likely.

g'mornin' Skunk....I watching this develop. thanks for taking the initiative...its good to let the mind flex....

There is much less light available in the red spectrum, and I believe the trichome was evolved to harness this light. All other purposes are merely secondary.

So if this is true... and we know not all trichomes contain cannabinoids. It would be reasonable to suggest that trich's are primarily for harnessing lower light levels, and that the cannabinoids are secondary. Maybe from the aging of the trich', as the trich is downgraded by the light... maybe damaged by doing the very job it was created for... the plant responds by trying to preserve the trich' with chemicals.

Did you know that outdoor plants can actually see each other? Green is not the only part of the spectrum reflected off the plants... but also light from the far red end is also reflected. Plants use this information to gleen how much competition they have for light.

skunkushybrid said:

.....Did you know that outdoor plants can actually see each other? Green is not the only part of the spectrum reflected off the plants... but also light from the far red end is also reflected. Plants use this information to gleen how much competition they have for light......

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that's interesting....where'd you find that nugget of info?

Also, this would suggest that chopping off the fan leaves mid-way into flower would cause the plant to produce more trich's. This works, I've done it... I did it three days before harvest. Trimmed the bud like it was already harvested.

I thought at the time, that the reason the plant did this was because of stress... I now believe it was to harness more light.

tahoe58 said:

that's interesting....where'd you find that nugget of info?

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Here:

Can Plants "See" Light?

Glad I still left the tab open. Probably learned it atschool, then promptly forgot all about it. Who needs to learn about light spectrum, right?

hahahaha yea like most....it is interesting to see how school has become more practical and applicable...at least it seems that way for my kids...thanks for the link...I'll take....BTW - I sent you a PM with another Q? Cheers!

skunkushybrid said:

Here:

Can Plants "See" Light?

Glad I still left the tab open. Probably learned it atschool, then promptly forgot all about it. Who needs to learn about light spectrum, right?

Click to expand...

You might wellbelieve from reading this that this means that trich's devlop better in low light environments, but I believe this would be wrong.

trich's develop better in high light conditions because the plant can grow better and faster, the trich's will age quicker... and it will use the dark period to grow even more trich's so that it can grow yet even bigger.

Give it the right farming techniques and cannabis could become a tree... just like many other plants before it.

so you're saying that the trichs are there to harness more light energy basically...

what do you say to the idea that the trichs are there for UV light protection? the two theories are kinda quite conflicting... or maybe not?

If trich's are a response to high UV radiation then why do they take so long to come? By the time the trich's arrive in any numbers is when there is less UV radiation.

Boy I wish I could offer more to this but my mind is just stuck in a circle thinking about light in general and, light and UV both A&B in particular.

Okay, I've done the wake & bake so this might seem, way out there, but could trich's be natures sunscreen??

Could the low light, reds/orange_over millions of years_be the signal that stronger light cometh and to prepare? Years in the desert has given me a perspective of how things adapt first to survive and then to pro-create. This would make sense, kinda sorta, if approached from the fact that plants are Hermies.

Just thinking

i agree skunkushybrid, the later arrival of the trich (when the light intensity's lower) supports your argument

Chemical ecology of Cannabis

Seems to indicate the trichomes are not for catching light but protecting plant from dessication, predation, UV-B, etc., all previously mentioned. Fucker is Dutch, so who knows.

Later arrival of trichs, as I mentioned in a previous thread, is to protect the seed from the degrading affects of light and heat. The plant is out to do one thing, not gather more light to grow big, which it would if it had enough energy left over. The plant wants to produce seed, period. Keep this in mind when thinking about the trich; seed production. This is why the highest concentration of trichs, by far, is on the seed bract, not the fan leaves.

Then if this is true, why are trich's on the fan leaves at all? Also, why do males get them?

if trichs where there to intensify light wouldn't they show up most during vegettative growth when the plant needs the most light?

i think they are there to protect the seeds and help the seeds travel to further locations. ie: sticking to animals fur.

To protect the plant in the other ways mentioned, predation etc. I personally believe that the development of trichs in such profusion is almost entirely due to selective breeding. Marijuana has been cultivated for thousands of years and not always for the drug. Paper, food, and other uses are recognized throughout the ancient world. However, like all of humankinds crops, the selective breeding of the plants with the highest concentration of trichs, for hash say, over thousands of years, has no doubt changed the plant in order to suit our needs. Many of the crops we buy at our supermarkets today bear little or no resemblance to the original plant from which the selection process began. This must play a very important role in the evolution of the marijuana plant.

ccodiane said:

Later arrival of trichs, as I mentioned in a previous thread, is to protect the seed from the degrading affects of light and heat. The plant is out to do one thing, not gather more light to grow big, which it would if it had enough energy left over. The plant wants to produce seed, period. Keep this in mind when thinking about the trich; seed production. This is why the highest concentration of trichs, by far, is on the seed bract, not the fan leaves.

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ccodiane said:

To protect the plant in the other ways mentioned, predation etc. I personally believe that the development of trichs in such profusion is almost entirely due to selective breeding. Marijuana has been cultivated for thousands of years and not always for the drug. Paper, food, and other uses are recognized throughout the ancient world. However, like all of humankinds crops, the selective breeding of the plants with the highest concentration of trichs, for hash say, over thousands of years, has no doubt changed the plant in order to suit our needs. Many of the crops we buy at our supermarkets today bear little or no resemblance to the original plant from which the selection process began. This must play a very important role in the evolution of the marijuana plant.

Click to expand...

i'm riding in this boat.