Trichome maturity is self explanatory and you could explain that to a child? What is hard to grasp is bud formation and like you say swelling of the "bracts", I don't think terminology is what's important it is to understand flower maturity and a plants life cycle. Trichome maturity is only one variable.
I disagree. Trichome maturity is definitely not self explanatory – many new growers need to be informed as to how to correctly observe trichome color, and then correlating that to the psychoactive effects of the THC. It's a common, recurring theme here on this forum. For most normal grows, it's the determining factor as to when to harvest.
Sure, terminology is important, because accuracy matters in communication. It matters the same way as when a member here recently said that sugar leaves don't photosynthesize; whereas, what he really meant is that they don't photosynthesize nearly as much as fan leaves. A bract is a bract. A calyx is a calyx. The calyx is inside the bract. I know that a lot of growers simply use the word calyx, but the observable part is actually the bract.
I could understand if you used the word
pistil instead of bract, because the bract is just a cover for the pistil and all that it includes, which is: the stigmas, and at their base, the style and ovule. The calyx is merely a cover on the ovule.
If a plant show amber trichome because of stress two months early doesn't mean I should chop two months early? Trichome on the sugar leaves is the worst marker you can have for maturity, they may mature like I pointed out two months early.
Give me a break. In a normal grow, trichomes are the primary indicator of ripeness. The stigmas also provide cues – usually all stigmas will go brown/orange (necrotic) before the trichomes are ripe. (Stigmas are the visible part of the pistil.)
If a flower is mature and has completed it's growth cycle and doesn't grow any more and consume less water and nutrients, all pistils are retracted an final swelling is done trichome will be mature there's no need for loupe if you know how to read the plant. Like I said it's just one marker and not the best one.
Trichome ripeness is indeed the best indicator, because: a) you can't rely on the stigmas (visible part) going brown, and b) water consumption and bract swelling are less reliable in terms of being able to detect those. Indeed, in some grows, water consumption may dwindle before trichomes are ripe. What works for you in your grows, which I can tell is highly refined and successful, may not work in another's grow.
