Confused with the seed production(Newbie post)

[houzouris]

So, i read some stuff that got me even more confused about how are the seeds made. Truth is i never smoked quality cannabis(and boy am i eager to!) so i don't really know what's happening in "the real world".

Sum of what i read: Only hermaphrodites and pollinated plants(not sure if that's males, females or both though) can produce seeds.

What causes my confusion:
1)Most of the times i bought street weed(i am not even calling it cannabis) there was at least 1-2 seeds per bud.
2)They sold me once a pollinated bud(i was young, dumb and thirsty, don't judge ) and i found at least 10 seeds per bud.

What i want to understand:
Is the the "Sum of what i read" statement true? If yes, why do i sometimes find few and sometimes many seeds? Basically will a female/male plant produce seeds?

Thank you and sorry if the question is dumb
(My mamma told me there are no stupid questions!!!)

 

[Antics]

Males only produce pollen.
Females only produce seeds when fertilized. Females are also the only plant that produces the smokable bud we all enjoy.

Hermaphrodites are female plants, that due to some kind of environmental stress, (usually light leaking into the grow during the dark period of a flowering plant) causes the plant to grow male pollen sacs. The plant fertilizes itself, and these seeds are then believed by some to have a higher tendency to hermy as well.

Pollinated plants are females. They can be pollinated by a male, a nearby hermy, themselves as a hermy, or themselves while bolting (more on that later).

Male + Female pollination typically results in 50% male 50% female seeds. Also known as "regulars"
Female + Hermy pollination covered above, unsure of male"female ratio here, but believed to have a higher risk of hermy.
Females late in flower will sometimes "bolt", which is a process where a female plant produces female pollen in an attempt to fertilize itself. You will often see these growths referred to as bananas, or "nanners" from the yellow banana like appearance. The resulting seeds should all be feminized in the case of bolting.

The weed you bought:
If you only found 1-2 seeds, that particular bud or branch may not have been exposed to as much pollen as the weed you bought in example 2.

And check out this page: How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

Tons more info to learn there too

 

[houzouris]

Wow, really thorough and helpful reply! Thanks a lot! What confused me in the first place is that i thought the whole female plant will be pollinated at once instead of parts of it.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I see- sort of like a person can't be a 'little bit pregnant'. No, one pollen grain can only pollinate one calyx. So any number of seeds can form on a plant, depending on the number of grains of pollen that reach their target.