Stigma

What Does Stigma Mean?

The stigma, alongside the style and ovary, make up a carpel (or pistil) in the female reproductive system in a plant. The stigma is located at the head of the style. It is the portion of the carpel where pollen germinates and is essential for plant reproduction.

The stigma of a plant is sticky so it attracts and retains the pollen that falls upon it or is brought to it by pollinators.

Maximum Yield Explains Stigma

The female reproductive system of a plant includes a pistil formed from one to many rolled structures known as carpels, the ovary, which is the seed-bearing portion, and the stigma where the actual pollination occurs.

In dioecious species in which the male and female reproductive systems are on separate plants, birds, bees, and other insects collect pollen from the male flower and carry it to the stigma of the female.

Monoecious plants, where both reproductive systems are present on a single plant, are often self-pollinating. The pollen falls from the male portion of the plant onto the stigma of the female portion.

In a cannabis growing situation, however, male plants are unwanted and unnecessary. Therefore, the stigma has no actual role to serve. With that being said, they can be used to determine the maturity of the plant in question, and help the grower prepare for bud harvesting at the earliest opportunity.

Stigma grow in a variety of shapes, from feathery to round, or thin and long. Stigma are also able to identify the species of pollen it traps and will reject incompatible or genetically similar pollen.