3 cotyldons?????

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]On August 24, 2004, investigators from the Adirondack Drug Task Force seized 13 cannabis plants that had three fingered leaves instead of the traditional five. Investigators found the plants in a Beekmantown (Clinton County) field growing in crates that were concealed among blackberry bushes. The plants were approximately 4 feet tall, and buds were developing on many of the plants. Investigators found the plants after an individual provided them with a tip. No arrests were made at the time of the seizure, and the plants have not been analyzed in a laboratory. Task force investigators report that over the past 3 to 4 years there have been several seizures in Clinton County of three fingered leaf cannabis plants as well as one seizure of single fingered leaf cannabis plants. Agencies participating in the Adirondack Drug Task Force include the Clinton County Sheriff's Department, Plattsburgh Police Department, New York State Police, DEA, and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP).[/SIZE][/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]NDIC Comment: Traditionally, cannabis plants are thought of as having five leaves; however, the number of leaves on a cannabis plant can vary (although it usually has an odd number of leaves such as three or seven). This seizure follows a widely publicized April 2004 seizure of four immature cannabis plants with three fingered leaves from an indoor grow in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The plants seized in Thunder Bay were atypical in appearance, however, having twig like stalks and broad, rounded leaves, which led to reports of the discovery of a new strain of cannabis. What may be more likely in both of these seizures is that it is an unintentional occurrence of whorled phyllotaxy. In botany, leaf phyllotaxy describes how leaves are arranged on a stem and in relation to one another. Whorled phyllotaxy means three or more leaves at one node of a stem. Information gained through online canvassing reveals that this may be a somewhat common occurrence when growing cannabis. The limited information also suggests that whorled phyllotaxy occurred in plants cultivated from clones of normal plants, and many incidents involved indica varieties, which typically have broader leaves than sativa varieties. Whether whorled phyllotaxy has an effect on plant yield or potency is uncertain. Some growers hopefully suggest that the THC levels of such plants will be higher, while others report that this leaf arrangement previously manifested in plants found to be inferior or male (no buds). The plants seized in Thunder Bay had not yet developed buds and tested at only 1.8 to 2.6 percent THC.[/SIZE][/FONT]​