Bulbous Trichomes

Bulbous trichomes are large, round-headed glandular structures that develop on cannabis plant surfaces, particularly abundant on flowers and leaves. Named for their distinctive bulb-like appearance under magnification, these structures contain cannabinoid and terpene-producing cells within a single large cell layer. Bulbous trichomes are among the largest trichome morphologies observable on cannabis, though typically fewer in number than their smaller capitate and stalked counterparts. Lineage records and breeding documentation frequently reference bulbous trichome prominence as a secondary morphological marker in phenotype assessment. Their presence and density have been tracked across different cultivar families, though their specific contribution to cannabinoid production remains an active area of cultivation research.

Breeders working with trichome morphology use bulbous trichome density as a visual phenotype marker during selection, alongside more metabolically significant capitate-stalked structures. Documentation of bulbous trichome expression helps breeders catalog phenotypic variation within established strain families and track inheritance patterns across generations.