Those crazy whiskers are the pistils, which do not have an direct influence on the delivery of cannabinoids. Except for when pollinated, it triggers the plant to use its energy for seed production instead of cannabinoid production.
awesome diagram I found
The ovule will produce a seed inside when pollinated.
That's crazy. I thought the reddish brown 'hairs' delivered some goodness. I've seen some buds with a lot of them while others have fewer. I guess in and of themselves, they do not have psychoactive properties but are perhaps indirect indicators of plant variety or some developmental process.
You got it.
I remember in my early years of cannabis consumption (before I was a grower) people would talk about the "red hairs" and more distinct red hairs was always a selling point for "stronger bud."
It's a common misconception in this regard.
The pistils are white until the plant starts maturing, and some growers will harvest based on the pistil color change alone. Some will harvest at 50% brown/red pistils, while others will harvest with complete 100% coverage of brown/red, and some growers even harvest before any brown/red pistils are present at all!
The general consensus with this is that there should be at least 50% brown/red coverage, as this is an indicator that the trichomes are starting to mature (which play much more into the cannabinoid effects than the pistils themselves.)
I was just looking at my stuff earlier tonight and one bud has beautiful long red hairs. It looks so nice it's tempting to judge the book by it's cover. Thanks for the cool details on the plant.