# Capitate-sessile trichome

> A glandular trichome with a resin head but little or no stalk, sitting close to the surface of leaves and young bracts.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/capitate-sessile-trichome.html
- Also written: capitate sessile trichome, sessile trichome, sessile glandular trichome, capitate-sessile
- 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"

A capitate-sessile trichome is a glandular [trichome](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/trichome.md) whose secretory head sits almost directly on the epidermis, with a very short stalk or none visible. Heads are smaller than stalked glands, roughly 25-70 µm across. They occur on leaves, [sugar leaves](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sugar-leaf.md), stems and early-developing [bracts](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bract.md).

Livingston et al. (2020) found that, on cannabis flowers, many sessile-looking glands are an early developmental stage of [capitate-stalked](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/capitate-stalked-trichome.md) glands, and that the two differ in metabolism: stalked glands make relatively more [monoterpenes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/monoterpene.md) and fluoresce differently. Sessile glands on leaves stay sessile.

## In practice

On a loupe they look like tiny beads stuck to the leaf surface. Their presence on sugar leaves is why trim from close to the bud carries resin and gets kept for processing, while large [fan leaves](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fan-leaf.md) carry far less.

They matter less for [harvest timing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/harvest-window.md) than stalked glands, because the flower's bulk resin sits in stalked heads.

## Don't confuse with

- **Capitate-stalked trichome**: tall stalk, large head, dominant on bracts.
- **Bulbous trichome**: much smaller, a few cells.
- **Cystolith hair**: non-glandular, no resin.

## Related terms

[Capitate-stalked trichome](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/capitate-stalked-trichome.md), [Bulbous trichome](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bulbous-trichome.md), [Trichome](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/trichome.md), [Sugar leaf](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sugar-leaf.md)

## Read more

- [Trichome ripeness: clear, cloudy, amber, and what the evidence says](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/harvest-cure/trichome-ripeness.md)

## Sources

1. Livingston SJ, Quilichini TD, Booth JK, et al. 2020. Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation. The Plant Journal 101(1):37-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14516