What Are Trichomes?

Why Are Trichomes Important?

Trichomes are the main reason that marijuana tastes, smells, and, most importantly, feels good. Trichomes produce cannabinoids like THC and CBD, which provide psychoactive and/or medicinal effects.

Stalked trichomes were found in a study to correlate with high cannabinoid levels, as well as the production of terpenes and CBDA synthase, which is the precursor to CBD [1]. Glandular trichomes, in general, have been shown to synthesize and accumulate the cannabinoids in cannabis [2].

Trichomes are also responsible for terpenoids and flavonoids, the two types of compounds that give plants a smell and taste [3].

Put simply, without trichomes; you’d be left with flavorless, odorless weed that doesn’t get you high, offer therapeutic benefits, or anything else you associate with smoking weed. The experience of cannabis is due almost entirely to trichomes.

Benefits of Trichomes

The benefits of trichomes are essentially the same as any other benefits of cannabis since trichomes are imperative to getting cannabinoids into your flower. Even if you prefer to take your CBD or THC orally, those products are extracted from flowers rich in trichomes.

Cannabis has numerous benefits, including improving sleep, lowering anxiety, reducing inflammation, and elevating your mood. No matter what form of cannabis you use, trichomes have worked hard to make sure those cannabinoids reach you.

How To Preserve The Trichomes on Your Marijuana Buds

So if trichomes are so important, how can you make them last as long as possible?

It’s no secret that old marijuana tends to lose its good taste and smell, and some say it loses potency, too. That’s because many of the trichomes have fallen off.

If you catch them, though, you can still smoke them! That’s where a kief catcher comes in. Kief is essentially just a collection of dusted-off trichomes, which is why it gets you super high. You can buy a grinder with a kief catcher so that each time you knock trichomes off your weed, you’re catching them to use for later.

Some say that putting your grinder in the freezer right after using it will help shake extra trichomes into your kief catcher, but this is tough to confirm.

It’s also important that you store your weed properly in order to keep trichomes for as long as you can. Always keep weed in an airtight container, ideally with moisture packets inside. Keep it out of the direct sun, too.

Trichomes stick to the plant because they’re, well, sticky. So, if you keep your flower fresh, your trichomes will stay fresh, too.

Another great way to get more out of trichomes is by vaping your flower or using hemp wick. When you hit a freshly packed bowl with a large lighter, you’re probably burning off lots of trichomes that you aren’t smoking in that hit. 

Instead, try vaping your flower, so none of the trichomes burn off without you smoking them. Alternatively, you can use a hemp wick to get a more precise burn on your weed and waste less.

Any smoking method that involves less direct contact between the bud and fire will preserve more trichomes for you to enjoy.

How to Use Kief

Kief is one of the best parts about smoking flowers, but it’s a powerful thing that can be easily misused. As discussed, kief is the trichome-rich dust that shakes off of flowers as you grind them. It’s recommended that you gather lots of kief before you use it.

Keep in mind that kief is generally stronger than weed—sometimes it’s even stronger than the buds it came from.

Once you’ve gathered enough to scoop, you can use kief to make firecrackers (a low-hassle edible you can make in the microwave). You can roll a joint in kief or add a line of kief to the inside of your joint when you roll it. Kief can also be used to top off a pipe or bong bowl, as well as any vaporizer or volcano.

Summary: What Are Trichomes?

Trichomes are microscopic appendages on plants. The trichomes on Cannabis sativa flower give it its psychoactivity, taste, smell, and therapeutic benefits. 

Trichomes produce terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids, which make weed smell, taste, and feel good. 

You can make the most of the trichomes on your flower by storing your weed properly, using a kief catcher, and knowing how to use it on kief day.

References

1. Livingston, S. J., Quilichini, T. D., Booth, J. K., Wong, D. C., Rensing, K. H., Laflamme, Yonkman, J., … & Samuels, A. L. (2020). Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation. The Plant Journal, 101(1), 37-56.
2. Wang, X., Shen, C., Meng, P., Tan, G., & Lv, L. (2021). Analysis and review of trichomes in plants. BMC plant biology, 21(1), 1-11.
3. Wagner, G. J., Wang, E., & Shepherd, R. (2004). New approaches for studying and exploiting an old protuberance, the plant trichome. Annals of botany, 93(1), 3.