Humulus lupulus L.
common hop (common hops)
Cannabaceae (Hemp family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
common hop (common hops)
Cannabaceae (Hemp family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Humulus lupulus var. lupulus
Introduction
Common hops is a perennial, herbaceous, rhizomatous climbing vine with distinctive 3- to 5-lobed leaves. Four varieties are recognized in North America, including the introduced European variety Humulus lupulus var. lupulus, and the native variety, var. neomexicanus (Flora North America 2010 ). The native variety is reported for BC by Flora North America and the USDA (2010). However, the varieties of hop are challenging to separate and in BC further work is needed to determine which varieties are confirmed as present and their invasive status.
Hops, made from the flowering cones of var. lupulus, is an important ingredient in beer-making. It is a source of prenylflavonoids, including 8-Prenylnaringenin, a potent phytoestrogen (Possemiers et al. 2006). |
Species Information
General:
Perennial herbaceous vine; stems twining, rough, up to 10 m long.
Leaves:
Opposite, heart-shaped at the base, stipulate, 3-5 lobed, strongly toothed, rough-hairy, 4-10 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of unisexual axillary flowers; female flowers in cylindric spikes, greenish-yellow, 3-5 cm long, yellow-glandular especially at the base of the bracts; male flowers in panicles.
Fruits:
Achenes, hidden by enlarged bracts.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Ditches and disturbed areas in the lowland zone; infrequent in SW and SC BC, known only from the lower Fraser Valley and N Okanagan; introduced from Europe or elsewhere in North America.Status Information
References
Sam Possemiers, Selin Bolca, Charlotte Grootaert, Arne Heyerick, Karel Decroos, Willem Dhooge, Denis De Keukeleire, Sylvie Rabot, Willy Verstraete and Tom Van de Wiele. 2006. The Prenylflavonoid Isoxanthohumol from Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) Is Activated into the Potent Phytoestrogen 8-Prenylnaringenin In Vitro and in the Human Intestine. Nutrition 136:1862-1867.