Stigma

The stigma is the distal, receptive tip of the pistil on which compatible pollen germinates. In Cannabis sativa, each pistillate flower produces two elongate, feathery, papillose stigmatic branches that emerge through the apex of the perigonal bract and function as wind-pollen interceptors (Spitzer-Rimon et al. 2019; Small 2015). Stigmas are unicellular-papillate epidermal projections on a slender style, initially whitish-yellow and becoming reddish-brown during senescence — a pigmentation shift cultivators use as a non-destructive maturity indicator, typically harvesting when 60–90% of stigmas have darkened (Livingston et al. 2020). The colloquial term "pistil" is almost always applied to these stigmatic branches in grower vernacular, conflating the two structures (Small 2015). Etymology: Greek stigma ("mark, puncture"). Synonyms/slang: "hair," "hairs," pistil (informal misuse), "red hairs." → See also: Pistil, Calyx, Pollination, Flowering.