Centrifugal orbital flower cutter with an iris blade follower

Apparatus for stripping cannabis flower from a stem, branch, or stalk of a cannabis plant, comprising:

• a cutting assembly that includes at least two movable plates that cooperate to form an opening through which the stem, branch, or stalk is pulled, wherein edges of the opening engage the stem, branch, or stalk to cut the cannabis flower from the stem, branch or stalk, wherein movement of the plates in response to a first force in first diametrically opposed direction increases a size of the opening, and wherein movement of the two movable plates in second diametrically opposed directions opposite the first diametrically opposed directions in response to a second force overcomes the first force to decrease the size of the opening until edges of the opening engage the stem, branch or stalk as it is pulled through the opening;
• a stalk pulling assembly that includes at least two stalk pulling mechanisms configured to pinch the stalk, stem, or branch and pull the stalk, stem, or branch through the opening, wherein a first of the two stalk pulling mechanisms floats relative to a second of the two mechanisms to enable a spacing between the belts at a pinch point to vary with a diameter of the stalk, stem, or branch,
• wherein the opening through which the stalk, stem, or branch is pulled is formed by the intersection of overlapping circular holes in the two plates to form an elliptical opening that increases in eccentricity as the plates are moved in said second diametrically opposed directions.