The Evolution of the Trichome

so that is so fascinating....the adaptation of this plant to trhe specific conditions under which it now thrives is awe-inspiring for me. I found the following link at the U of Saskatchewan Tillandsias and although a dvisersion a diversion....a wholly (HoLey?) interesting read....and some additional insight into the comlex world of botanical adaptations....like...this plant does not produce a seed....it produces offsets...little babies plants...why? my guess is that a seed would have little chance of success...but a baby plant....obviously it had a serious competitive advantage...how cool!

here is the link regarding the purpose of Trichs resin spheres as UVB magnifiers to produce THC from its precursors CBD:

Marijuana THC

that whole website is great.

I wonder who did the test for the article? Green Man refers to a significant other...

Cannabis seems to reflect the far red end of the spectrum, but take in the far blue. Tahoe's touched on this subject in pm very recently.

and maybe we should now take this to another thread....that of a more intense examination of light....the components of the light and their influence over the plant/trichome processes....I'm sure this has been dealt with in some manner before, but I think we have come to a point in this discussion, that would benefit from starting at a new juncture and running that path...to all the particpants in this thread (and with Skunk's envcouragement *** thank you***)....I hope you have some join us in taking this discussion in another direction.

You guys are to smart for me, I'm going back to the trailer park...

But really, through out evolution all spec. will change in one way or another to adapt to its environment. Isn't the whole point for the spec. to keep its continuation.
If I remember right in the Gal. Ilands resurchers have found many of different spec. (animals/plant ect) to evolved from one spec. into another and this was from great distances. But through out there evolution they still keep trates from previs adaptations.

So why would it not make some sence that at one point in time trics- had one function and through time, evolution and adaptation turned into a mutitude of functions. This could make sence logically knowing all the facts through out the true life of the 1st spec.
With all respect there are to many variables over the corse of time to have a true one dimension answer.
I don't have my books in front of me so don't quote me.

A lot of what we think we know is guesswork or theory. There will always be theories, which theories do you believe, logan?

You believe these theories, because thay make the most sense. I believe that there is a pattern to evolution, and that it happens for very logical reasons. So by using logic, reasoning, history... whatever... we can come up with answers that make the most sense.

Any niggling doubts must be raised and then addressed.

I don't have enough knowledge on the plant its self and have not resurch it. I was speaking in generality.

Like yourself I don't like it when ppl state disclamed facts and try to ponder them of as truths/facts. That never helps, it makes thing worse. And I see no point but for that person to feel like they are knowledgeable in something that they are not.

If we are talking about the life of a spec. I would think that spec. would develop over time different traites for different environments and would actaully turn or morph into a new spec. I'm not saying that the first spec. would die out I'm saying it would change as the evironments does. This is over 100s of years maybe 1000s.

If we think about any living spec. and ask our selves what is the key factor in its existance, I would say to stay alive or in essences to keep the DNA alive and with that said as pollen is released it would be definitely an advantage with the glue like substance.
Someone made the comment about how it would not be beneficial for reproduction but why not? It takes something like 10 million sperm to enter one egg. So even if one pollen made it in (I don't know the real number it take to reproduce, nor do I know the number of pollen released) would be a dna structurer/trait.

Futher more with the stickiness of the trics I would see a benefit with other animals walking by and catching it on its nose, fur, feathers, ect. This might be why in different geographic location the plant does not trive (as to date) it just has not evolved to its environment.

As for the other functions that it might have, ie magnifying the sun for an extra boost of photosynthesis this could be a possibility.

Lets think about it...????....????

Why would this help? ---- This could help produce bigger and better seeds as it has been poll. all ready. This might be why the plant produces much more at the final stage of its cycle of life. This might allow it to have a consentrate amout of energy production. This could help keep the poll in the plant to reasure its reproduction as well.

Like I said in my first statement I do not know enough about the structure, so everything that I have said is merrily my educated guess.

1 sperm 1 egg just to correct my misprint.

And as for herm and other mutations maybe thats what they are. I beleive that you stated that they started out this way, I don't know how they started but for arguement sake lets say this is how they started out.

So what would tell us?

Maybe that in its primal state it didn't have as many spec. around the same area so it needed to poll. its self to keep the spec. thriving but through time it change into a male, female poll. plants. do to it abundance in nature.

Maybe there life span was in the years or decades and not a seasonal plant. Maybe they where the size of tress (ie 10 x 10 or 30 x 10). This is very possible.

But with every strand of DNA there will some type of genetic mishap. This is with time of course. So now think of what the mishap will bring to its spec. maybe nothing but maybe change its entire structure over time. That could be the fist step in its new footprint of evolution.

Just a thought I have no proof to back any of this up-

I believe that trics are multi functional and provide many things to the plant and serve many purposes.
Trics glistening in the sun like a million diamonds would attract many insects that would pollinate the plant,many insects will also die from potent trics and eventually fall to the ground.

Many seeds will fall down in the original plants base area with all the dead insects and leaf and provide a great new home for the new seedlings next season.

I also think that the trics moisturize the plants and probably act to reflect some light and heat away from the plant in hot dry conditions and maybe to absorb extra light in low light conditions as the trics can move just as the leaves do and angle the resin globs as needed.

There are many reasons for trics and it is even possible that trics were developed to ward of men and other animals over time as im sure that being totally wasted on weed and living in a time were you may have been hunted by wolves or bears did not mix well,so it is possible that trics are a defense against men as well as other animals that knew not to eat that plant because it will make you go to sleep and not wake up until your legs being chewed of by a wolf

tahoe58 said:

all of the above....as I wrote in another thread yeaterday....anti-dessication (i.e., THC concentration higher in xeric conditions), antimicrobial, antifungal, antifeedant (i.e., chemical and physical deterrent). Anotehr one that is also being further investigated is UV-B pigmentation roles.

Click to expand...

Yes, NASA do a lot of work on atmospheric pressures and varying degrees of spectrum. So the plant releases pigment, or changing colours in response to UV. This is why YGF's plants in the desert went purple... too much exposure, maybe? UV prevents cell division, so the pigment in the plant is a response to this, almost a defensive barrier against the harmful radiation getting in.

Yet, it seems at the moment, that the trichome works and responds in much the same way. It creates chemicals to counteract the harmful UV, yet then why work as a magnifier to the light? Maybe the trich' was first developed to harness the dwindling blue end of the spectrum, and in response to this the trich had to work out defences against the UV. Could this be the reason for the 2 cells? Within the trich, the harmful UV is reacted with a chemical, rendering it harmless, while at the same time creating thc. The rest of the light reacts with the other cell, which responds in feeding the cytokinin hormones responsible for photosynthesis.

LoganSmith said:

If we are talking about the life of a spec. I would think that spec. would develop over time different traites for different environments and would actaully turn or morph into a new spec. I'm not saying that the first spec. would die out I'm saying it would change as the evironments does. This is over 100s of years maybe 1000s.

If we think about any living spec. and ask our selves what is the key factor in its existance, I would say to stay alive or in essences to keep the DNA alive and with that said as pollen is released it would be definitely an advantage with the glue like substance.

Click to expand...

It is my assumption that if we change the environment, regardless of the degree of change, the plant_or us for that matter_will immediately begin the process of adaptation. I don't think it waits for a few years to evaluate changes. I've lived remotely with the animals for decades now and I can tell you that the animals and plants adapt and change at a much faster rate than we do.

eg. While the world is pondering global climate change, the beaver is daily working on his dam, managing the amount of and quality of water for his enviornment. Which goes to your 2nd paragraph about how the plant wants 'to stay alive'.

Of course, this is my opinion and I'm probably wrong.

Thinking further about the evolutionary time of a plant.

If we agree the effective life of a plant is 300 days_10 months outdoors_that works out to a total life of 7,200 hours.

In that period of time, the plant not only has to do all of the genetic housekeeping that is encoded, but also it has to have 'situational awareness'_don't you just love that word_to analyze it's environment, compare it to it's baseline and then make the necessary changes to: 1) survive; 2) give a road map to later generations of how they survived, thru DNA encoding.

7,200 hours = a lifetime.

Yes, and the mayfly... lives for just 24 hours. I watched a documentary once, and it was designed to show us what life looks like to a fly.

Normal street lights would flicker, as the fly could see things moving so quickly, it even could see the surges of power it takes to run a sodium lamp. naked to our own eyes.

This would be true of a plant also. They see differently than we do, maybe a trichome is just a highly advanced eye.

If I'm uderstanding you right then you are saying that the plant will change its self within one cycle of life to the degree of a internal DNA change. How can this be possable? I would think that it would take years and years for a spec. to change to a totally different enviorment. I would say I know this to be true- Like I have said in my past posts I don't have my books nor do I really want to resurch it.
This is as we were talking about the start of trics. or the start of the plant in general.
We as humans are one of the youngest living things on earth as we know it as of now.
Trees can live for 100s and 1000s of years and with that said the change of a spec. DNA to adapt totally to a new enviorment would be a very slow process. I'm not saying I'm 100% right because I know I'm not. I'm saying with the few years of desert eco. that I have taken and the study of different spec. ie Kangaroo rats, snakes, and a var. of different other spec. and plants that the process in a very slow one, and slow I would refur to the other spec. of life and not ours as humans.

I would say that a spec. is changing all the time but not to the degree of a new DNA strand that has altered the structure of that spec.

Please excuess my spelling errors I'm sick and don't have the energy to spell check.

Thx for the debate it gets my mind going-

phenotypically....the physical and observable structural makeup can change within the confines of the living time of an organism. however, I believe the genetic code to remake that morphological change will take more time. How much....that's evolution - the success of the individual species is inherent it is ability to adapat and in the translation of that adaption into a genetic code. that is genetic change and not adaptive change.

say for example you break your leg and you are in a cast for 12 weeks....your immobilized leg will undergo singnificant reduction in muscle mass (atrophy), and I expect under microscopic analysis your bones will also change structurally. these are adaptive, not evolutionary processes. The babies that my sperm produces will not have a changed genetic code for an atrophied and emaciated legs muscle and bone less adapted to being weight bearing.

Adaptive changes will only become evolutionary changes once they are an expression of the genetic material, and not a mere response to an environmental condition. Environmental conditions come and go. genetic change has to make certain that it is an absolute competitive advantage to propogating that genetic material. So, in the case of trichome production and THC concentration, the adapative change may be significant differences from the genetic map, but until the genetic map has "mutated" to include this as a "trait" it will remain as an environmental adaption.

I go back to my example of the cheetah and the thompson's gazelle. an individual cheetah that is able to chase down thomson's gazelle more successfully will propogate its genetic material. That behaviour will be passed along, but only those offspring that are capble of tolerating the higher body temperature will have the probability of higher survival success. Somewhere along the line, that same animal will have to experience a genetic map that carries the gene that is programed for the allowance to withstand a higher internal body temperature.

As we are "manipulating" environmental conditions, and we can complete many many generations, it is "theoretically" possible to pursue those traits that we prefer. there is much more to say here....and I will continue to read and think....I'm having SOOO much fun with this....I truly do believe I have gone over the edge! hahahahaha.

***EDIT*** taken from CC article entitled Pot Potency.....

Marijuana is unique from an evolutionary standpoint in being the only plant in history that in some cases has been grown and bred for over two decades under nothing but artificial light. It is very likely that there have already been some genetic changes that have taken place as a result of this. All plants, especially cannabis, will quickly adapt to a new habitat by adding or dropping traits over successive generations. With breeders doing potentially as many as three or four generations per year, over 20 years there is great opportunity for drift from original genotypes.

ok...I just had a thought blast its way through me early this morning. if we accept the notion that there is a measureable difference in the concentration of trichromes, and ultimately THC with female plants - then what I am saying in this attached quote? That males do not warrant the same level of protection from all the elements that female plants do? is it not as important for a male plant to not dessicate? is it not equally important for a male plant to avoid fungal and microbial attack? etc. etc. maybe it is not. one male plant spewing its pollen can cover many females, so the overall importance of the male is potentially less? there we go we get f*cked in the ear again. work, make money, make babies, work some more, make more money, work your fingers to the bone, and make sure you're making even more money...and ....then f*ck off...what mine is mine and whats yours is mine! (and no...I'm not bitter!) hahahahahahaha

tahoe58 said:

all of the above....as I wrote in another thread yeaterday....anti-dessication (i.e., THC concentration higher in xeric conditions), antimicrobial, antifungal, antifeedant (i.e., chemical and physical deterrent). Anotehr one that is also being further investigated is UV-B pigmentation roles.

Click to expand...

The ability of many hardy plants to adapt to their current environment quickly is already in their dna and is not something that requires an evolutionary jump or change in genetics.
Just as you would put a coat on if it was cold outside a weed will grow differently because it can sense the cold