Marijuana dictionary

Viviparity may be a strange-sounding word, but it actually describes one of the best-known phenomena among mammals (and other species), that of embryos developing inside the mother's body until the moment of birth, at which point they are already prepared to survive in the outside world. This viviparity, which is so familiar to us humans, is not so frequently found in the plant kingdom, where the embryos are released by the mother plant as a seed and will depend exclusively on the environment to develop and grow.

However, viviparity can also occur in some plants and sometimes, the seed that would normally wait to be released begins to grow in the mother's body and emerges to the surface like an alien unleashed. The result? Plants that seem like something from a horror movie but that are, in reality, premature mothers.

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A mutation is a random change in the nucleotide sequence or in the organisation of DNA (genotype) or RNA of a living being, which produces a variation in its characteristics. DNA and RNA are polymers formed by long chains of nucleotides. For the most part, these changes only affect a single nucleotide or a very small DNA region of the billions of nucleotides that make up the genome, but they are responsible for the genetic variability that can be observed in all species. Without mutations, we would all be identical and, most importantly, there would be no possibilities for evolution and adaptation.

Therefore, using the simplest possible terms, mutation refers to ‘errors’ in the genetic code of cannabis which make plants develop differently than expected.

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During the 1970s, the American cannabis scene discovered a new and revolutionary product originating from an exotic land: the Thai Stick. And while nowadays it might seem impossible, back then cannabis was a taboo subject in American culture, and very few people cultivated their own plants. In contrast, most of the weed they used came from the overseas market, particularly Central America and the Caribbean, but a large share of this marijuana cargo originated in Asia.

The explanation is simple: at the time, many hippies embarked on an adventure - that became known as the Hippie Hashish Trail - to visit some of the world's biggest cannabis and hashish producers, from Morocco to South East Asia, through countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, among others.

Naturally, drug-trafficking networks were soon established between all of these countries and the US as the cargo destination, mostly created by young American "tourists" with great entrepreneurial talent and very little interest in what could happen to them if they were caught.

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When it comes to cannabis, the part of the plant that gets all the attention is naturally the bit we're all growing for: the flowers. But while it's easy to be enamoured with the beautiful frosty flowers we shouldn't overlook the rest, because behind the bud there's a whole plant, with all its component parts, each playing an essential role in bringing us our precious harvest.

Here at Alchimiaweb we strongly believe that the more we know about our favourite plants, the more success we'll have cultivating them, and the happier we'll be with the results! For these reasons here we're going to take a closer look at the cannabis plant and identify all the different elements of its anatomy to help you get to know this wonderful plant a little bit better.

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