Pistillé

Pistillate refers to a type of plant that has the potential to be either male or female, but possesses only the reproductive structures necessary for the production of female reproductive cells.

An Introduction to Plant Propagation

Most of the plants that humans use for food are angiosperms, which reproduce through flowering and often bear fruit. There are two classifications for angiosperms—monoecious and dioecious—which distinguish them based on their mode of reproduction. Monoecious plants possess both male and female reproductive structures on the same plant. Corn, for example, is monoecious since a single plant produces both male and female sex cells. In contrast, a dioecious angiosperm contains reproductive structures involved in the production of either male or female gametes, but not both.

Cannabis is a classic example of a dioecious angiosperm, as its male and female sex cells are found on separate plants. However, cannabis can sometimes be monoecious in the case of so-called hermaphroditic plants. "Pistillate" is an adjective used to describe a dioecious angiosperm whose reproductive anatomy, the pistil, is used for the production of female sex cells. In contrast, "staminate" refers to a dioecious angiosperm whose reproductive anatomy—the stamens—is used for the production of male sex cells.

The entire reproductive system involved in the formation of female sex cells is called the gynoecium. In cannabis, the gynoecium consists of pistils, each of which contains two carpels. The carpel is the plant’s essential reproductive unit and is responsible for capturing pollen and transferring it to the ovule for seed production.

Each carpel consists of three parts: the stigma, the style, and the ovary. The stigma is a sticky tip located at the end of each style that collects pollen; the style is a narrow tube through which the pollen travels; and the base of the style houses the ovary. The ovary contains the ovules, which produce the female sex cells. Fertilization occurs when the female sex cells produced in the ovules are introduced into the pollen captured by the stigma and transported by the style.

Since cannabis can sometimes be monoecious, these plants contain both female and male reproductive organs: the gynoecium and the androecium, respectively. The male reproductive stamens produce pollen grains that contain the male sex cells. Cannabis plants that are monoecious, or hermaphroditic, are capable of fertilizing their own ovules with their own stamens. Monoecious plants are not pistillated, as they contain both an androecium and a gynoecium.

In everyday language, plants that have only stamens are called «male,» and those that have a gynoecium without stamens are called «female.» However, the correct botanical terms are “staminate” and “pistillate,” respectively.

If you examine a flowering cannabis plant with pistils (commonly known as a “female”), the different parts of its reproductive anatomy become clear. The top of the flower, or cola, contains the majority of the plant’s gynaecium, commonly referred to as buds, flowers, or nuggets. The pistils grow along the petiole at each node and are heavily concentrated in the cola.

Assuming the plant has been fertilized by male pollen—which is not the case for most cannabis intended for medical or recreational use—each pistil contains a developing seed. The pistil is wrapped in a small leaf called a bract, with the only visible parts being the two stigmas on each carpel. The stigmas resemble small white hairs that shrink and turn orange toward the end of the flowering cycle. These stigmas are commonly referred to as pistils, but from a botanical standpoint, they are only part of the carpel, two of which form a pistil.