# Staminate flower

> A male flower that carries stamens (anthers on filaments) and no functional pistil; in cannabis, five drooping sepals around five pollen-shedding anthers.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/staminate-flower.html
- Also written: male flower, male flowers, staminate flowers, male pollen flower
- 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 staminate flower is a male flower: it has [stamens](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/anther.md) and no functional [pistil](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pistil.md). A male cannabis flower is a small pendulous bud with five sepals (tepals) that open to expose five anthers on short filaments. The anthers split and release fine, wind-carried pollen.

## In practice

On a male plant, staminate flowers appear in loose clusters (panicles), often earlier than females show. Closed male flowers look like small balls on a short stalk, with no [stigmas](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stigma.md). They begin shedding pollen roughly 1-3 weeks after first appearing.

Growers producing seedless flower remove males as soon as they are identified. Breeders keep the best ones. House position: males are a necessity in breeding, and GenetixBay encourages and rewards keeping and documenting good males in [the Stud Book](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stud-book.md).

Staminate flowers or exposed anthers on a female plant mean an [intersex](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md) (hermaphrodite) plant, which should be culled and not bred from.

## Don't confuse with

- **Pistillate flower**: the [female flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pistillate-flower.md) with stigmas.
- **Anther**: the pollen-bearing part of the stamen.
- **Pre-flower**: the first flower at a node, either sex.

## Related terms

[Anther](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/anther.md), [Pistillate flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pistillate-flower.md), [Dioecious](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dioecious.md), [Pre-flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pre-flower.md), [Hermaphrodite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md)

## Read more

- [Male, female and hermaphrodite cannabis: how sex works](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/sex-male-female-hermaphrodite.md)
- [Collecting and storing cannabis pollen](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/pollen-collection-storage.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. Small E. 2015. Evolution and classification of Cannabis sativa (marijuana, hemp) in relation to human utilization. The Botanical Review 81:189-294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-015-9157-3