Quote Originally Posted by mutigen
stems have become brittle and woody (not mushy)
there appear to be small, tough and hard, burls or spurs or knuckles or something, at the base of some of the plants.

later, as i stated earlier, the stems have chunks literally falling off, but in dry strands, that do look as if they have been scratched of by some sort of animal.
Cannabis plants DO grow a bark-like layer as they age, and it DOES naturally flake off in strands.

Those bumps or knuckles... small? White?

You are seeing the nubs of advantitous roots forming. It's common for a cannabis plant to try to air-root.