I started a thread in the parent forum about "apomixis" and "agamospermy".
I think the term "herm" get's thrown around too loosely. Everyone seems to have the same beliefs about herm plants. For instance, get them out of your grow area so that they don't pollinate your other plants. But there are stories of herm plants existing alongside females, and the females never being affected.
Now take the reported advice of DJS, which is to keep "backward hermies" because of their perceived desirable qualities. Well, "backwards hermies" doesn't really sound too scientific to me. I want to know what the hell a "backwards herm" really is?
That's where I think my thread about "apomixis"and "agamospermy" tendencies in flowering plants becomes relevant to this conversation.
Consider this Wikipedia entry on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apomixis
Of particular interest:
"In botany, apomixis was defined by Winkler as
replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction, without fertilization[1]. This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cuttings or leaves, has never been considered to be apomixis, but
replacement of the seed by a plantlet,
or replacement of the flower by bulbils are types of apomixis. Apomictically produced offspring are genetically identical to the parent plant."
"In flowering plants, the term "apomixis" is commonly used in a restricted sense to mean agamospermy, i.e.
asexual reproduction through seeds."
"Agamospermy occurs mainly in two forms:
In gametophytic apomixis, the embryo arises from an unfertilized egg cell (i.e. by parthenogenesis) in a gametophyte that was produced from a cell that did not complete meiosis. In adventitious embryony (sporophytic apomixis), an embryo is formed directly (not from a gametophyte) from nucellus or integument tissue (see nucellar embryony)."
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So all of this information seems to suggest that it's possible for flowering plans to produce seeds asexually, without pollen.
It also seems to describe a process by which would result in "replacement of seed with plantment".
Maybe this behavior can occur in cannabis? Very important, I am not stating this as a fact. I've just never heard anyone have this conversation. Perhaps "herms" actually need several classifications. For instance, gametophytic apomixistic agamospermic herm versus...shit, I don't know, some other kind of herm.