Herm-prone describes a cultivar or seed line in which a noticeable share of plants develop male flowers or bare anthers alongside female flowers. It is a property of the genetics, revealed more often under stress such as light leaks, heat or late harvest.
In practice
A grower who sees nanners on 3 of 10 plants from one pack, in a tent where another line stayed clean, has good reason to call that pack herm-prone. On GenetixBay every line publishes a herm rate from tester grows; any herm in the 10-plant screening grow, or a pooled rate above 2%, keeps a line out of featuring and the community programmes (see herm threshold). Log every intersex plant against its batch record so the rate is real data, not anecdote.
Don't confuse with
- Stress-induced herm: an argument, not a separate category. Almost any plant can be forced with extreme stress; the question is how easily. Lines that herm under ordinary indoor conditions are herm-prone.
- Monoecious hemp: bred on purpose to carry both flower types; not the norm for cannabis.
Myth check
"All cannabis herms under stress, so it doesn't matter." GenetixBay house position: herm-prone lines are mainly breeder error: repeated selfing (S1 on S1), careless feminising, and pollen chuckers spreading unstable genetics. 5-10% herms in a commercial room means poor genetics, not normal cannabis. Cull, don't breed. See hermaphrodites and Mythbusters.
