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THC Living Plant Atlas system
Flowers
Female flower anatomy, condensed inflorescence architecture, reproductive phytomers, floral meristems, bracts, ovary and ovule, stigmas, photoperiod-driven shoot-apex reorganization, pollination, maturation, senescence, trichome development, and disease-risk inspection.
10 structured lessons6 learning goals14 indexed topics
System progress
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Next unfinished lessonFemale flower anatomy
Continue learningConnected biology
This system does not work alone.
Flower development depends on architecture, reproductive biology, resin-bearing structures, and the microclimate around dense floral tissue.
Follow the connection
Nodes & BranchingNode and phytomer anatomy, axillary-bud establishment and release, apical dominance, phyllotaxy, developmental transitions, pruning plasticity, topping, FIM, LST, mainlining, SCROG, and branch biomechanics.Trichomes & ResinGlandular trichome types and developmental states, secretory-disk anatomy, storage cavity, stipe and stalk specialization, sessile-like precursors, secretory-cell metabolism, optical maturity, gland aging and dehiscence, sampling bias, and microscope workflow.Sex, Pollen & SeedsStaminate and pistillate development, XX/XY chromosome context, early sex-biased regulation, ethylene-mediated sexual plasticity, mixed-sex expression, anther maturation and dehiscence, pollen biology and fitness, pollination, fertilization, seed formation, and controlled crossing.Environment OverlayCoupled whole-plant environment overlay for PPFD, DLI, photoperiod, CO2, temperature, humidity, VPD, airflow, leaf energy balance, canopy light acclimation, water, root-zone supply, nutrients, pH, EC, and interacting limitations.
Developmental context
Measure or record with it
- Developmental stage
- Representative flower-site observations
- Humidity
- Airflow
- Tissue condition
Interactive visual lab
Flower Development Lab
Flower development is a sequence rather than a single 'flowering' state. Timing varies with genetics and environment, so structural changes are more useful than fixed calendar weeks.
Scrub development by structure, not calendar week
Initiation
What you can see
Preflowers and reproductive structures become easier to distinguish at nodes.
What is happening
Meristems shift toward reproductive development under genetic and environmental control.
Pair the visual with these observations
new bract formationstigmas by age and positiontrichomes on bracts rather than sugar leavesflower density and airflowmold-risk microclimatesevidence of pollination
Learning objectives
What this system should teach
Visual curriculum
Flowers lesson sequence
Each lesson is structured around a visual reference so the Atlas can replace dry text-first learning with observation and diagrams.Lesson 01
Female flower anatomy
Locate the subtending and perigonal bracts, carpel and ovary, developing ovule, reduced perianth, paired stigmatic branches, sugar leaves, and glandular floral surfaces using Cannabis-specific anatomical references.
Open visual lessonFemale flower anatomy plate
Lesson 02
Flower initiation
Follow solitary pistillate flower initiation and early reproductive phytomer development while distinguishing those events from the later condensation of the whole inflorescence.
Open visual lessonEarly flower and reproductive-phytomer timeline
Lesson 03
Bud development
Track changing branch order, bract expansion, stigma appearance, floral density, resin coverage, and senescence while recognizing that a visible cannabis bud is a condensed inflorescence, not one flower.
Open visual lessonFlower development and inflorescence-compaction sequence
Lesson 04
Pollination response
See how successful pollen reception and fertilization redirect individual floral development toward embryo and seed formation and can change bract, stigma, and ovary appearance.
Open visual lessonPollinated vs unpollinated floral-structure comparison
Lesson 05
Maturity & risk inspection
Combine representative bract trichomes, floral development, stigma condition, senescence, genotype, canopy position, and mold inspection rather than relying on one calendar week or stigma color alone.
Open visual lessonMulti-signal flower maturity and risk inspection checklist
Lesson 06
Photoperiod sensing & floral transition
Separate photoperiod sensing and meristem reorganization from the later appearance of dense flowers by following adult shoot-apex branching, internode shortening, floral development, and genotype-dependent timing.
Open visual lessonPhotoperiod signal to inflorescence architecture timeline
Lesson 07
Inflorescence architecture & condensed phytomers
Build the female Cannabis inflorescence from main-axis and higher-order branches into shortened repeated phytomers carrying reduced leaves or bracts, solitary flowers, and axillary shoots, explaining why the mature bud is a highly branched compound reproductive structure rather than a single flower.
Open visual lessonWhole-plant-to-condensed-inflorescence exploded hierarchy
Lesson 08
Floral meristem branching & photoperiod
Compare adult long-day and short-day shoot apices to see how short-day exposure can increase reproductive branching and reduce internode extension as the inflorescence condenses, while keeping individual flower initiation conceptually distinct from this architectural transition.
Open visual lessonLong-day versus short-day shoot-apex branching and internode model
Lesson 09
Bract, ovary & stigma anatomy
Zoom through the female reproductive phytomer to distinguish the subtending bract, perigonal bract, ovary with a developing ovule, reduced perianth, paired stigmatic branches and papillae, plus the glandular trichomes and stomata carried by surrounding bract tissues.
Open visual lessonPhotorealistic female flower cutaway with reproductive tissues labeled
Lesson 10
Maturation, senescence & bract change
Follow bract expansion, stigma condition, glandular-trichome maturation, resin-head aging or dehiscence, and surrounding tissue senescence as partly asynchronous processes influenced by genotype, flower age, and sampling location rather than as a universal week-by-week harvest clock.
Open visual lessonAsynchronous bract, stigma, and trichome maturation sequence
Reference index
Topics connected to this system
Female flower anatomyInflorescence architectureCondensed phytomersFloral meristemsPhotoperiodBractsOvaryOvuleStigmasPollination responseBract expansionTrichome maturationSenescenceMold risk