A cystolith trichome is a non-glandular, single-celled hair, typically short and curved like a claw, with a deposit of calcium carbonate (a cystolith) at its base. These hairs cover the upper surface of cannabis leaves and give them a slightly rough feel. Longer, thinner non-glandular hairs are found on the undersides and on stems. Neither type produces resin.
In practice
Under a loupe, cystolith hairs are clear, pointed and stalk-only, with no ball head. New growers sometimes mistake them for "clear trichomes" on sugar leaves and decide a plant isn't ripe. Look for the resin head: no head, not a glandular trichome.
Cystolith hairs are a botanical identification feature of the cannabis and hop family and were long used in forensic microscopy to recognise plant material.
Don't confuse with
- Glandular trichomes: the resin-producing types with heads.
- Clear trichome: a glandular head that hasn't clouded yet; it still has a head.
- Powdery mildew: white fungal spots that rub off, not hairs.
The female reproductive organ of a flower (ovary, style and stigmas); in cannabis growers loosely call the visible white stigmas "pistils".A small handheld magnifier, typically 30-60x for cannabis use, used to inspect trichome heads and spot pests and male flowers.The maturity of glandular trichome heads, read by colour under magnification: clear (immature), cloudy or milky (mature), then amber (ageing).A small leaf growing from within the flower cluster, often coated in trichomes, which is trimmed off and commonly kept for processing.A hair-like outgrowth of the plant's skin; in cannabis the glandular types make and store the resin holding cannabinoids and terpenes.A fungal disease, on cannabis caused mainly by Golovinomyces ambrosiae, that grows as white powdery patches on leaves and buds and thrives in moderate humidity.The smallest glandular trichome on cannabis, a few cells with a tiny head (about 10-30 µm), scattered over leaves and stems.One of the separate serrated blades that make up a palmate cannabis leaf; a mature fan leaf typically has five to eleven leaflets.
