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Preflowers, as opposed to full blown
flowers, generally appear after the fourth week of
vegetative growth from seed. Check carefully
above the fourth node. Please note that preflowers are
very small and impossible to differentiate without
magnification. A photographer's 10x loupe is handy
indeed when examining preflowers.
As the images
below demonstrate, the female preflower is pear shaped
and produces a pair of pistils. Frequently, the female
preflowers do not show pistils until well after the
preflowers have emerged. Thus, don't yank a plant
because it has no pistils.Pistillate preflowers are
located at the node between the stipule and emerging
branch.
Female (pistillate)
Female (pistillate)
Image courtesy
of Uncle Ben
The male preflower and flower
may be described as a "ball on a stick." Frequently, a
male plant will develop mature staminate flowers after
prolonged periods of vegetative growth. These appear in
clusters around the nodes.
The following image
shows a male plant in early flowering. Staminate flowers
are located at the node between
the stipule and
emerging branch. Note the clusters of flowers.
Male (staminate)
The image below
shows a male pre flower after 24 days of 18/6.
Image contributed by: surfed
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