Is this Mold? Or Trichomes (No Trichome Heads) Only appears on my stems for some reason on all the buds

Many sources say White Hair like objects are mold but then I see cystolithic trichomes and they also kind of look like white hairs when I zoom in. I am not sure what I am seeing or if this is safe to smoke. This is my first grow and I was quite careful overall just confused what it is. (No Trichome Heads) Only appears on my stems for some reason and it doesn't look like hair at all from the eye until I use my 60x jewelers loupe + iphone zoom to look at it then it looks more like hairs running up and down the stem just weird. Making sure this isn't some type of fungus

on all the buds

Five o’ clock shadow ……


no seriously - it appears to be mold due to its fibrous growth PLUS trich development seems damaged.

Should I toss it?

I personally toss ANY mold plants BUT the job aint done…. A good najor deep clean of grow area us needed due to the spores that mold express.

Certainly don't smoke it.

It's honestly hard to tell from those pics, but I'd lean towards not mold.

Are you seeing any obviously dead plant matter in the area? It all looks pretty green to me.

An easy way to tell is to scratch at it with the tip of your scissors in an area you think may have mold, in front of a dark background (not under a magnifying glass). Mold spores will create a cloud that almost looks like a tiny puff of smoke, whereas trichomes will just fall away like snow because they are larger and heavier.

Edit to add: you're right to be checking around the stem, but I actually find it easier to spot mold, even small amounts, under a 5x or 10x magnifying glass. At higher magnification levels it's harder to focus and less obvious what is what...

Good luck!

weedstoner420 said:

It's honestly hard to tell from those pics, but I'd lean towards not mold.

Are you seeing any obviously dead plant matter in the area? It all looks pretty green to me.

An easy way to tell is to scratch at it with the tip of your scissors in an area you think may have mold, in front of a dark background (not under a magnifying glass). Mold spores will create a cloud that almost looks like a tiny puff of smoke, whereas trichomes will just fall away like snow because they are larger and heavier.

Edit to add: you're right to be checking around the stem, but I actually find it easier to spot mold, even small amounts, under a 5x or 10x magnifying glass. At higher magnification levels it's harder to focus and less obvious what is what...

Good luck!

Click to expand...

It is a tough call. The hairs to me look like non-glandular trichomes.

It looks 1:1 of this though and its only

weedstoner420 said:

It's honestly hard to tell from those pics, but I'd lean towards not mold.

Are you seeing any obviously dead plant matter in the area? It all looks pretty green to me.

An easy way to tell is to scratch at it with the tip of your scissors in an area you think may have mold, in front of a dark background (not under a magnifying glass). Mold spores will create a cloud that almost looks like a tiny puff of smoke, whereas trichomes will just fall away like snow because they are larger and heavier.

Edit to add: you're right to be checking around the stem, but I actually find it easier to spot mold, even small amounts, under a 5x or 10x magnifying glass. At higher magnification levels it's harder to focus and less obvious what is what...

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, I noticed its only on all of the stems not matter which bud I grab out of the 1.6 Ounces some areas more than most, Not really easy to see with the visible eye unless I use my Jewelers loupe which is 60x and zoom in which are the pictures I took I can see white hairs but they are like symmetrical and really only on the stems not on the buds doesn't look like cobweb to me and not all over the place honestly just looks to be apart of the plant. I feel like mold would be easier to see and would look more disorganized but I could be wrong im a entirely new grower and first time in this hobby.

It looks 1:1 like this "Cystolithc Trichomes" I figured surely its this but just was hoping for some confirmation from someone who is more experienced than me. Cheers

Nothing to worry about.

idk its usually fairly obvious when marijuana has mold / and or fungus on it. put the microscope down. does it smell off? your nose should tell you everything you need to know