Things To Know About The Weed Plant
Everybody knows that you can smoke or consume marijuana in order to get high. But for many people, this is all they know about the marijuana plant. Sure the THC in weed gives us a great time, but there is so much more to understand about the marijuana plant. If you consider yourself a true marijuana connoisseur you need to have all the facts down, from the history of the plant to its physical qualities. If learning about the marijuana plant interests you stick around as this blog details all you need to know about your favorite herb– the marijuana plant.
How Many Leaves are on a Cannabis Plant
The number of leaves on a cannabis plant varies to a great extent. The main factor determining this is the actual size of the plant. And the size of the plant depends on many factors, including whether the plant is being grown inside or outside and if it is in optimal conditions. As the plant gets larger, it grows more leaves.
What most people really want to know, however, is not how many leaves are on a cannabis plant but rather how many fingers are there supposed to be on each leaf. A marijuana leaf looks kind of like a hand, and this is why each separated stem/segment of the leaf is referred to as a finger. Cannabis fingers also vary in quantity, but to a lesser degree than the actual number of leaves themselves. Each cannabis leaf will contain between 1 and 13 fingers, with 7 fingers being the most common. The older a cannabis leaf is, the more leaflets it will have. Also note that while anything between 1 and 13 is considered a normal amount of fingers, typically leaves have 5, 7, or 9 leaflets. If your leaves have a different number of fingers on them this could indicate a health problem.
Three-Leaflet Cannabis Leaves
If you have a very young marijuana plant, then your leaves having three leaflets is completely normal. If you have a mature plant, on the other hand, three leaflet leaves are a telltale sign that something is wrong. Here are some possible reasons that cannabis leaves would contain only 3 fingers. But don't worry, you can still throw it in a bong and see if it works no matter what.
Stress:
Just as stress can impact the growth of animals, it can also slow the growth of plants. The main cause of stress in plants is not an argument or tough financial times however, rather it’s fluctuations in its environment. For example, the temperature having large drops or increases can be extremely taxing and cause the plant to stunt its growth. Another potential stress is fluctuations in the amount of water the plant receives, especially if the plant is being under watered.
Lighting:
Not having proper lighting can lead to plant leaves with three leaflets. Make sure that you are using LED grow lights and placing them at a proper distance away from the plant. Also, be sure not to change from fluorescent to LED once the plant has started to grow. Wait until you start growing your next plant to make any switches in the lighting. If you’re growing outside you need to make sure that your plants are in a place that gets ample sunlight. Lastly, note that if your lighting schedule changes, your plant will possibly revert back to creating three-finger leaves.
Other Uses of the Cannabis Plant
Now that you know what a healthy plant will look like, you should know all the things you can use the plant for other than smoking it. It’s pretty shocking when you first learn of all the uses the cannabis plant has. Those are:
Feeding Cattle:
Hemp can be used as both food and bedding for livestock. So if you want to run a farm but don’t want to worry about using a ton of land to produce crops like corn you’re in luck, just grow weed instead.
Hemp Plastics:
Hemp can be turned into plastics that can be used to eat or drink out of. Hemp plastic is better for the earth because it degrades much faster than regular plastics. This is because they’re plant-based. They’re stronger than other plant-based plastics though like corn or soy products, making them the perfect plastic substitute.
Clothing:
Hemp can not only be turned into plastic but into a piece of fabric as well. Hemp even beats out cotton in some respects. For starters, hemp is much easier to produce, and acre for acre you can produce way more hemp than you can cotton. Another less useful but still cool perk of hemp clothing is that it’s fire retardant. So if you were worried about your cotton clothes catching fire, worry no more, switch to hemp.
Hempcrete:
When hemp is mixed with limestone it creates hempcrete, a concrete-like substance. Hempcrete, like concrete, can be used to build large and sturdy structures, even houses. Hempcrete is also fire retardant and can naturally regulate your home's humidity levels.
How Long Has Cannabis Been Around
As you might’ve guessed, cannabis has been around for a long time, about 28 million years to exist. That’s about 140 times as long as humans have existed just to give you an idea of truly how long 28 million years is.
It is thought to have evolved in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, which would make it a close relative of hops currently found in many beers. No wonder so many people love both beer and marijuana, they might be somewhat related.
Now regarding humans' first usage, it’s thought that cultivation of it began around 4000 years ago in China. Of course, there was likely usage of the plant in isolated circumstances before that, but about 4000 years ago was when it really came into the picture.
Summary
If you want to say you know all about weed, you need to know more about the plant than just how THC makes you feel. A good place to start is understanding the growing process and the physical leaves themselves.
A healthy plant will have either 5,7, or 9 leaflets while other numbers may indicate a health issue or stress. Common stresses or issues include changes in their environment or insufficient light.
Once you successfully understand how to grow weed, you should know all its uses. Weed can be used to feed cattle, build homes, make clothing, or even as a plastic cup. And the last essential information you need to know is that the cannabis plant evolved around 28 million years ago and that it is a relative of hops found in beers. There is a lot more to learn about the cannabis plant, but at least now you should know a few facts about marijuana that are non-smoking related.
