Growers should note that there are specific environmental conditions that trigger the halt of chlorophyll production. Although not all cannabis strains will express purple, blue, or red hues in their lifetime, those equipped with the right genetics may do so under certain environmental conditions. The reason why cannabis produces flavonoids and anthocyanin, researchers have observed, is for protection.
Information on anthocyanin production in cannabis is limited. What we do know comes largely from cannabis cultivation experience and studies measuring patterns of anthocyanin production in other vegetation.
Purple, red, and blue hues may appear in response to drops in temperature, since chlorophyll production takes its natural pause in autumn as the days become colder. Some cannabis turns entirely purple, even the leaves and stems, while other strains only see the buds, and some of the foliage turns purple. The drying and curing process reduces the purple coloring in most strains but not the potency.
When we think of purple buds, we think of grape flavors. Grape flavors can taste like fruit or candy, depending on the strain. Most purple bud produces a dense smoke with a rich flavor profile. Purple genetics have some interesting flavors, and you can expect tones of lavender with a very herbal scent. Depending on what the cross strain is there are also skunky-garlicy strains with purple undertones like Scotti-Face and Tropicana Cookies, which itself has a nice full-mouth cookie aftertaste which pairs well with the fruity tropical smell up-front.
Back in the day, the only bud that turned purple was the cold-weather strains like Purple Haze. When the air gets cold in the last days of summer, early fall, these purple strains come into bloom, slowly turning purple throughout the final few weeks before harvest. So, why does bud turn purple?
Cannabis plants with the purple gene typically have high concentration anthocyanins, a group of flavonoids with antioxidant effects. These polyphenols are blue, red, or purple in color, and combinations of these colors form the legendary pink strains.
Selective breeding of strains allowed growers to isolate plants offering purple coloring. As a result of breeding programs, we have some super-tasty purple cannabis strains available in indicas, sativas, and hybrids. The extent to which its base genes are expressed is different, making the resulting plants have distinct characteristics. These different expressions of the same base genetics are known as phenotypes. The genotype may influence how phenotypes come about, but the results are unique to that plant.
To better understand this connection, I spoke with veteran grower and concentrate connoisseur Matt Gosling about the popularity of purple cannabis. Can you grow a purple-leaning cannabis plant to be a bit more purple? Possibly, but you might not want to. Many growers believe that stressing a plant can induce it to produce deeper pigments, but it might do more harm than good. Visual appeal aside, is there reason to believe that these purple flowers are better than the green buds more common to the plant?
The science leans towards no, at least for smoking it. According to the European Food Safety Authority, there is no substantive evidence anthocyanins have any effect on human biology or diseases — though they contain a higher concentration of antioxidants, which would theoretically only be beneficial if one were eating buds directly or juicing marijuana.
There is some minor proven correlation to anthocyanins as an anti-inflammatory, but again, would probably be more active if ingested. There are also some anecdotal reports that purple bud has a tendency for lower THC content than its greener counterparts, and this mostly comes from growers.
The popularity of purple cannabis is indisputable in the modern cannabis market. Why do people love purple weed? The majority of weed is some shade of green, and purple stands out. If you smoke a purple strain once and enjoy it, by having the visual marker, when others lack such distinct characteristics, any good memory is more likely to be imprinted.
Beyond visuals, the prevalence of purple cannabis in modern culture is heavily perpetuated in music. Many a stoner will tell you all about how the lyrics are coded references to cannabis or psychedelics. Hendrix himself spoke of the song in context of a dream-like science-fiction ballad. He later noted his frustration at not being able to more fully develop the themes in the final work.
However, in the current cultural understanding of cannabis, the original intention is irrelevant. The connection is too ingrained. Purple weed is that popular. Fast forward to modern music and you have an almost endless list of hip-hop and rap songs praising the purple. And those are just songs with purple references in the title, countless lyrics have been penned in a similar vein. The notoriously purple strain Purple Urkle is so famous that it has looped back around on itself in popular culture.
Actor Jaleel White , who played the character Steve Urkel on the sitcom Family Matters and is the inspiration for the strain Purple Urkle is now launching a cannabis brand titled, ItsPurpl , which will put out cultivars crossed with the famous strain. White said he started the brand specifically to cater to the popularity of purple cannabis. He told Forbes:. Family Matters ended its final season in Finally, purple weed is popular because some of it is very good!
Because it is so easily recognizable, if all purple cannabis was terrible, or even markedly worse than other colors, consumers would remember that just as intensely as their positive memories with purple strains. Some people believe that there are countless growers out there who bring out purple hues by manipulating the plant, however, the prevalence of such practices seems to range from an uncommon rarity or a myth or rare in pr.
They are typically found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, teas, and nuts as well as in the cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis plants. Historically, plants with high amounts of anthocyanin have been used in herbal medicines for thousands of years in North America, Europe and China. Anthocyanins are responsible for giving purple cannabis strains their vibrant color.
They are water-soluble pigments that are present in many plant. They are responsible for giving blueberries their blue color, red grapes their red color and blackberries their black color.
These molecules come in a range of colors which include gold, red, dark green, purple, dark blue and black. Temperature, light, pH levels, and structure all play a role in determining the specific color and stability of its pigments.
Just to put this into prospective, the process that causes leaves to change color in the autumn can be explained by the interaction of anthocyanins with other flavonoids. A similar process occurs with certain cannabis strains where they go through a spectrum of colors, including purple.
This color change happens with cannabis plants as they reach maturity at the flowering stage as well as when the temperature starts to decrease in the autumn. However, a strain must be predisposed to turn purple and this depends on its genetic makeup. Certain strains contain more anthocyanins than others. Purple cannabis flowers contain higher concentrations of antioxidant.
You would have to eat large quantities of buds in order to reap any benefit from their antioxidant properties.
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