# Anther

> The pollen-producing part of a stamen; in cannabis each male flower has five anthers that split to shed wind-blown pollen.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/anther.html
- Also written: anthers, pollen sac, pollen sacs, stamen, pollen pod
- Glossary category: Plant biology · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

An anther is the pollen-bearing head of a stamen, held up on a thin filament. Inside, pollen sacs produce [pollen grains](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollen.md); when ripe, the anther wall splits lengthwise (dehisces) and releases them. Cannabis is wind-pollinated, so anthers shed large volumes of light, dry pollen that can travel a long way on air.

## In practice

Breeders collect pollen by isolating a flowering male and tapping open flowers over paper. Pollen kept dry and cold lasts weeks in a fridge and much longer frozen.

On a female, anthers matter as a warning sign. Single yellow-green anthers poking out of a bud ("[bananas](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/nanners.md)") are exposed stamens from an [intersex plant](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md). They can shed pollen without the plant ever forming a full [male flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/staminate-flower.md). Remove the plant or the affected parts quickly, and don't breed from it.

Growers sometimes call a closed male flower a "pollen sac". Botanically the sacs are inside the anther.

## Don't confuse with

- **Staminate flower**: the whole male flower containing the anthers.
- **Stigma**: the female pollen-receiving hair.
- **Seed pod**: a [pollinated](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollination.md) [bract](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bract.md) holding a developing seed.

## Related terms

[Staminate flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/staminate-flower.md), [Hermaphrodite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md), [Stigma](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stigma.md), [Dioecious](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dioecious.md)

## Read more

- [Collecting and storing cannabis pollen](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/pollen-collection-storage.md)
- [Hermaphrodite cannabis (bananas and nanners): what to do](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diagnosis/hermaphrodites.md)

## Sources

1. Spitzer-Rimon B, Duchin S, Bernstein N, Kamenetsky R. 2019. Architecture and florogenesis in female Cannabis sativa plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:350. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00350
2. Gaudet D, Yadav NS, Sorokin A, Bilichak A, Kovalchuk I. 2020. Development and optimization of a germination assay and long-term storage for Cannabis sativa pollen. Plants 9(5):665. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050665