here is chapter one for you:
*The term pistil has developed a special meaning with respect to Cannabis which differs slightly from the precise botanical definition. This has come about mainly from the large number of cultivators who have casual knowledge of plant anatomy but an intense interest in the reproduction of Cannabis. The precise definition of pistil refers to the combination of ovary, style and stigma. In the more informal usage, pistil refers to the fused style and stigma. The informal sense is used throughout the book since it has become common practice among Cannabis cultivators.
The female flowers appear as two long white, yellow, or pink pistils protruding from the fold of a very thin membranous calyx. The calyx is covered with resin exuding glandular trichomes (hairs). Pistillate flowers are borne in pairs at the nodes one on each side of the petiole behind the stipule of bracts (reduced leaves) which conceal the flowers. The calyx measures 2 to 6 millimeters in length and is closely applied to, and completely contains, the ovary.
In male flowers, five petals (approximately 5 millimeters, or 3/16 inch, long) make up the calyx and may be yellow, white, or green in color. They hang down, and five stamens (approximately 5 millimeters long) emerge, consisting of slender anthers (pollen sacs), splitting upwards from the tip and suspended on thin filaments. The exterior surface of the staminate calyx is covered with non-glandular trichomes. The pollen grains are nearly spherical slightly yellow, and 25 to 30 microns (p) in diameter. The surface is smooth and exhibits 2 to 4 germ pores.
Before the start of flowering, the phyllotaxy (leaf arrangement) reverses and the number of leaflets per leaf decreases until a small single leaflet appears below each pair of calyxes. The phyllotaxy also changes from decussate (opposite) to alternate (staggered) and usually remains alternate throughout the floral stages regardless of sexual type.
The differences in flowering patterns of male and female plants are expressed in many ways. Soon after dehiscence (pollen shedding) the staminate plant dies, while the pistillate plant may mature up to five months after viable flowers are formed if little or no fertilization occurs. Compared with pistillate plants, staminate plants show a more rapid increase in height and a more rapid decrease in leaf size to the bracts which accompany the flowers. Staminate plants tend to flower up to one month earlier than pistillate plants; however, pistillate plants often differentiate primordia one to two weeks before staminate plants.
Many factors contribute to determining the sexuality of a flowering Cannabis plant. Under average conditions with a normal inductive photoperiod, Cannabis will bloom and produce approximately equal numbers of pure staminate and pure pistillate plants with a few hermaphrodites (both sexes on the same plant). Under conditions of extreme stress, such as nutrient excess or deficiency, mutilation, and altered light cycles, populations have been shown to depart greatly from the expected one-to-one staminate to pistillate ratio.
Just prior to dehiscence, the pollen nucleus divides to produce a small reproductive cell accompanied by a large vegetative cell, both of which are contained within the mature pollen grain. Germination occurs 15 to 20 minutes after contact with a pistil. As the pollen tube grows the vegetative cell remains in the pollen grain while the generative cell enters the pollen tube and migrates toward the ovule. The generative cell divides into two gametes (sex cells) as it travels the length of the pollen tube.
Pollination of the pistillate flower results in the loss of the paired pistils and a swelling of the tubular calyx where the ovule is enlarging. The staminate plants die after shedding pollen. After approximately 14 to 35 days the seed is matured and drops from the plant, leaving the dry calyx attached to the stem. This completes the normally 4 to 6 month life cycle, which may take as little as 2 months or as long as 10 months. Fresh seeds approach 100% viability, but this decreases with age.
The hard mature seed is partially surrounded by the calyx and is variously patterned in grey, brown, or black. Elongated and slightly compressed, it measures 2 to 6 millimeters (1/16 to 3/16 inch) in length and 2 to 4 millimeters (1/16 to 1/8 inch) in maximum diameter.
