Cannabis flower, also known as bud, is the most traditional and widely used form of cannabis. Whether you’re new to cannabis or an experienced consumer, flower offers a versatile, customizable experience with a wide range of effects, flavors, and potencies.

At Garden Remedies, we offer high-quality cannabis flower at our dispensaries in Newton, Marlborough, and Melrose, serving customers across Greater Boston and MetroWest.

What Is Cannabis Flower?

Cannabis flower is the dried, cured bud of the cannabis plant. It contains the highest concentration of cannabinoids like THC and CBD, along with aromatic compounds called terpenes that influence flavor and effects.

Flower can be consumed in several ways:

Smoked (joints, pipes, bongs)
Vaporized (for a smoother experience)
Used in homemade infusions

Because of its flexibility and fast onset, flower remains one of the most popular choices for both recreational and medical cannabis consumers.

Types of Cannabis Flower

Most cannabis plants humans consume are scientifically categorized as “hybrid” due to all the breeding among cultivars. However, the cannabis industry colloquially uses indica for sedative strains, sativa for uplifting strains, and hybrid for balanced.

Indica

Typically associated with relaxing, body-focused effects
Often chosen for evening use or winding down

Sativa

Commonly linked to uplifting, energizing effects
Popular for daytime use or social settings

Hybrid

A blend of indica and sativa genetics
Effects vary depending on the strain

Where Does This Come From?

The US cannabis market uses the terms sativa and indica to refer to effect when in fact, these terms really describe growth characteristics of the plant. In the cannabis market, “sativa” means stimulating or creative effects come from the plant or that it will not make you tired. Whereas “indica” in the market is more sedative or relaxing in effect.

In reality, “indica” more refers to squat plants with thick leaf structure and short flowering time, whereas “sativa” refers to tall, leggy plants with a thin leaf structure and long flowering time.

The reason these terms have been linked to effects is primarily due to the environments they were historically grown in.

Sativa – Equatorial Regions

Thin leaf plants historically grown in equatorial warmer regions with longer days. As the plant did not have a 12-hour window of darkness to flower under and was grown in extremely high humidity, plants would have a much longer flowering periods and thinner bud and leaf so it would not rot.

Due to being grown in equatorial regions with long days, these consumers historically did not want to be sleeping all day, so they selected profiles that would allow them to stay awake for the 18-hour of daylight days.

Indica – Mountainous Regions

The mountainous regions like the Hindu Kush area had very short days and a short growing season, so the plants would not finish if they had long flower cycles. These plants needed to flower fast and the squat structure and thick leaves allowed them to grab as much sunlight and heat as possible for growth in these cold harsh environments.

The consumers in these environments did not want to be kept up for 18 hours a day. It was cold, dark and life moved at a slower pace, so relaxing sedative effects were the goal.

Learn more about the origin of Indica/Sativa in our blog:

Does Indica vs. Sativa vs. Hybrid Matter? Probably Not as Much as You Think