Humulus lupulus is a species of flowering plant in the hemp family, native to Europe, western Asia and North America. It is a perennial, herbaceousclimbing plant which sends up new shoots in early spring and dies back to a cold-hardy rhizome in autumn. It is dioecious. Hops are sometimes described as bine plants rather than vines because, they have stiff downward facing hairs that provide stability and allow them to climb. These shoots allow H. lupulus to grow anywhere from. Hops have fragrant, wind-pollinated flowers that attract butterflies. The female cone shaped fruits from H. lupulus are used by breweries to preserve and flavor beer, and so H. lupulus is widely cultivated for use by the brewing industry. The fragrant flower cones, known as hops, impart a bitter flavor, and also have aromatic and preservative qualities. H. lupulus contains myrcene, humulene, xanthohumol, myrcenol, linalool, tannins, and resin.
Etymology
The genus name Humulus is a Medieval name that was at some point Latinized after being borrowed from a Germanic source exhibiting the h•m•l consonant cluster, as in Middle Low Germanhomele. According to Soviet Iranist V. Abaev this could be a word of Sarmatian origin which is presented in modern Ossetian language and derives from proto-Iranian hauma-arayka, an Aryanhaoma. From Sarmatian dialects this word spread across Eurasia, thus creating a group of related words in Turkic, Finno-Ugric, Slavic and Germanic languages. The specific epithet, lupulus, is Latin for small wolf. The name refers to the plant's tendency to strangle other plants, mainly osiers or basket willows, like a wolf does a sheep. Hops could be seen growing over these willows so often that it was named the willow-wolf. The English word hop is derived from the Middle Dutch word hoppe, also meaning Humulus lupulus.
Description
Humulus lupulus is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 10 meters tall, living up to 20 years. It has simple leaves with 3-5 deep lobes that can be opposite or alternate. The staminate flowers do not have petals, while the pistillate flowers’ petals completely cover the fruit. The cones found on female plants are called strobili. The fruit of H. lupulus is an achene, meaning that the fruit is dry and does not split open at maturity. The achene is surrounded by tepals and lupulin-secreting glands are concentrated on the fruit. Humulus lupulus grows best in the latitude range of 38°-51° in full sun with moderate amounts of rainfall. It uses the longer summer days as a cue for when to flower, which is usually around July/ August. Humulus lupulus can cause dermatitis to some who handle them. It is estimated that about 1 in 30 people are affected by this.
Varieties
The five varieties of this species are:
H. l. var. lupulus – Europe, western Asia
H. l. var. cordifolius – eastern Asia
H. l. var. lupuloides – eastern North America
H. l. var. neomexicanus - western North American.
H. l. var. pubescens – midwestern and eastern North America
Humulus lupulus is first mentioned in 768 CE when King Pepin donated hops to a monastery in Paris. Cultivation was first recorded in 859 CE, in documents from a monastery in Freising, Germany.
Use in brewing
The chemical compounds found in H. lupulus are main components in flavoring and bittering beer. Some other compounds help with creating foam in beer. Chemicals such as linalool and aldehydes contribute to the flavor of beer. The main components of bitterness in beer are iso-alpha acids, with many other compounds contributing to the overall bitterness of beer. Until the Middle Ages, Myrica gale was the most common plant used for brewing beer. H. lupulus took off as a flavoring agent for beer because it contains preserving agents, making the beer viable for longer.
Humulus lupulus extract is antimicrobial, an activity which has been exploited in the manufacture of natural deodorant.
Spent H. lupulus extract has also been shown to have antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities, raising the possibility this waste product of the brewing industry could be developed for medical applications.
Extracts of the bitter alpha-acids present in H. lupulus have been shown to decrease nocturnal activity, acting as a sleep aide, in certain concentrations.
