Using our Live Cured Flower process, we preserve all the qualities of the live cannabis plant. This includes the precious trichomes found all over the plant. Trichomes are small hair-like structures found on the surface of plants, and they serve various functions, including protection against herbivores, pathogens, and environmental stressors.
Cannabis is well-known in the plant kingdom for their diverse trichome structures, which play a significant role in the production of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. Because of the trichomes importance, we’ve developed our process to carefully preserve them along with the rest of the flower. We inspect our plants at harvest using a Celestron microscope before we cut them down to ensure the trichomes are mature and ready for harvest. There are three primary types of trichomes on the cannabis plant that we focus on while inspecting the plants at harvest:
1. Capitate-Stalked Trichomes:
- Bulbous Head: These trichomes have a glandular head that contains the highest concentration of cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD. The head looks like a tiny, translucent bulb or mushroom cap.
- Stalk: Capitate-stalked trichomes have a long, slender stalk that elevates the glandular head above the plant’s surface, maximizing their exposure to light and protecting them from physical damage.
2. Capitate Sessile Trichomes:
- These trichomes are smaller and less conspicuous than capitate-stalked trichomes.
- They lack the long stalk found in capitate-stalked trichomes and sit close to or directly on the plant’s surface.
3. Bulbous / Globular Trichomes:
- These are small, spherical trichomes found in abundance on the surface of young cannabis plants but can still be seen on mature plants as well.
- They may play a role in early defense against herbivores and environmental stressors.
The capitate-stalked trichomes, with their glandular heads, are the primary sites of cannabinoid and terpene production in cannabis plants. These trichomes are most concentrated on the flowering top colas of the mature plant. Since we only put top colas into our large bud eighths the maturity of those trichomes is extremely important to us. We look for plants that have developed mature capitate-stalked trichomes and carefully preserve them using our Live Cured Flower process. We’re able to inspect the trichomes on the plant by using our Celestron microscope before we begin harvesting to ensure the plants meet spec. After that we carefully cut down the plants and hand-trim each bud. Machine-trimming damages the trichomes and therefore damages the most important part of the plant in my opinion. Once the buds have been meticulously trimmed, we quickly freeze the flower buds to ensure they’re intact when they reach you.
The specific balance of cannabinoids and terpenes at their peak in cannabis cultivars depends on the preservation of the plants trichomes after harvest. Our mission is to do no harm to the plant so that we can deliver it to you just as it was at harvest.
Stay safe and stay stoned!
