STAR LABA trichome head is an organised biological structure, with distinct sites for producing and storing metabolites.
The finding
Livingston and colleagues used rapid cryofixation, electron microscopy and enzyme localisation to investigate cannabis glandular trichomes. They observed extensive connections between secretory cells and an organised distribution of organelles near the surface facing the storage cavity. Their term “supercell” describes this interconnected organisation. [1]
Production and storage are distinct
The study located THCA synthase at the cell-surface wall facing the extracellular cavity. It also documented membrane contact sites between cellular compartments and proposed a model for metabolite production and transport. Observed structures and the proposed transport model are related, but they are not the same level of evidence.
What readers should take from it
This is a 2022 study, reviewed here in November 2026. It explains cellular organisation; it does not rank finished concentrates, establish a PSL batch profile, or demonstrate that a larger visible gland guarantees a particular composition. Read it alongside the trichome introduction to connect the external shape with the biology inside.
Sources & further reading
Research findings and public-agency definitions are attributed above. Reading checklists are editorial guidance, not laboratory findings.