Leaf Shape and Cannabioids

[MongyMan]

For a fair few years now I have suspected that there is a link between the shape of a plants leaves and the cannabinoids that a plant will produce. Indica and sativa plants for eg. have a different leaf shape and each has a different stone.

 

I also suspect that the genes controling THC and other cannabinoid production are on the same chromosome very close to, or are the same genes, that determine leaf shape. The reasons I have for this are something I will discuss later in another thread if there is any interest in this one.

 

I am interested to hear anyone elses thoughts on this idea, or if anyone can point me to any info on the net that may be of interest would be good too.

[bush buggered]

Hey there Mongy dude. i would'nt have a fricken clue mate. but i sure would be interested to know. interesting point though mongy is your favourite strain. when we were growin it in the 70's it was known for being pretty average smoko. but you reckon youve managed to get some guts out of it. going by your own view on genetics that stuff still should'nt be much good. talk about fricken leaf shape.

still would like to know about your theory though. sounds feasable to me.........cheers....b.b....

[MongyMan]

Hey Bush Buggered thanks for the interest and reply.

 

Let me start by saying that this is in no way a proven fact and I may be totaly wrong But based on my own experience with growing and crossing cannabis with many different leaf shapes over the years I think that it is a possibility.

 

The initial problems I had trying to improve Mongy Weed was what first started me thinking about it, but as Indicas and Sativas are what most people are farmiliar with, I will use them as an example.

 

As a generaly accepted rule, Sativas grow leaves with long skinny fingers compared to Indicas shorter broader fingers. Each has its own cannabinoid combinations and a different effect when consumed, all of which is determined by the different genes present in their chromosomes. Cross a pure Indica to a pure Sativa and the offspring will have a leaf shape and cannabinoid mix that is roughly halfway between the two parents. When these plants are crossed, their seeds will grow a mix of plants, some with more Indica shaped leaves, others with a more Sativa shaped leaf. It has been my experience that it's not very common for one of these plants with an Indica shape leaf to smoke up like a Sativa or one with a Sativa shape leaf to smoke up like an Indica although It does happen sometimes which I will come back to. The fact that most of the time the shape of the leaf appears to have carried on in the offspring along with the particular cannabinoids normaly associated with it is what has led me to think that the genes responsible for the different cannabinoid ratios are on the same chromosome possitioned very close to those that determine leaf shape , or there are a few genes controling each trait and some of these genes may play a roll in both.

 

With Sativas and Indicas, this is probably of no real concern, as the genes involved seem to be fairly co-dominant and the shape of the leaf is irrelevent at the end of the day, but with alot of mutant genes, there is a problem as many of them are recesive genes.

 

It is no real surprise to me that most people who grew the original Mongy Madness seeds gave up on them as most of them weren't that good to start with potency wise like the ones you ended up with Bush Buggered, and even when crossed with normal leaf shaped plants to improve the cannabinoids the leaf trait is lost untill the next generation when it is extremly rare for a plant with the Mongy trait to have not reverted back to the cannabinoids of the original Mongy parent. But as i said earlier in relation to Sativas and Indicas this apparent leaf shape to cannabinoid connection is not always the case and nor is it with Mongy Weed although it is much rarer.

 

The decent Mongy seeds I have are the result of years of careful selection from what most would consider to be an unbelievable number of plants. It also appears that I have some very unothodox breeding methods compared to what I have been reading since getting the net which I think has helped me a bit too.

 

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me for now. I hope you and others find that of interest Bush Buggered and like I said anyone's comments or thoughts on this idea would be apreciated.

[bush buggered]

never thought about about this before mongy, but it makes sense to me. although i missed school the day they did genetics, so. someone who knows about genetics should be jumping on this. i'd be interested to know. . .....hows yr mutant mull going?. y'know, i never did get a satisfactory explanation from any source as to how that mutant mull came to be. .....cheers m8...b.b.......

[Xpat Simon]

I would be interested in mutations theories. With crossing over and over again it is hard to keep up what was what? indica or sativa. Over the years I also noticed different shapes of the leaf. I am not really a genetic freak so I can't tell you how it happens... but I noticed it also has to do (whatever the crossing was) with where you grow your baby. Plants will adapt over time. Spill your theories about this subject..it just might be interesting.

 

Cheerz,

 

Simon

[HHF]

I don't feel the Cannabinoids are related to leaf traits. The reason for that is that I have seen a few Pakistani wide leafed Hashish plants with pretty 'up/active' highs. I think this comes from the terpenoids of the plants, in that the terpenes that provide lemon/citrus aromas and tastes lead to up/clear highs. This is the same as in aromatherapy and is most likely to be the case in Cannabis too. It is common to the phenotypes of wide leafed plants that ive experienced with Sativa esque highs.

 

The thin leafed equatorial plants appear to produce in wild populations much lower CBD content in relation to fat leafed wild Indica lines, but that is most likely due to wide leafed Indica plants being traditionaly grown for Hashish production not sensimelia and the Sativa types being smoked as ganja, or flowers. These would have been selected for the quality of high, which would select against high CBD types, where the farmer in the Kush has no interest in flowers, only resin yeilds.

 

However, there are also many high CBD Sativa or Narrow Leaf Drug chemotypes in the equatorial Sativa genepool too. This is particularly apparent in the strains of Colombia and in some Central Africans which are most likely the parental ancestors of the Colombian genepool, as far as can be seen.

 

Cool thread.

 

Peace, HHF

[thekilla]

actually you can proove it right or wrong with statistics.. you can proove it to a reasonable degree of certainty.. eg 95% or 99.9%..

 

 

devise the right test and have hte controls setup and you could discover something..