Humulus lupulus, SE: Humle, DE: Hopfen,
NL: Hop, UK: Common hop

Scientific name:		Humulus lupulus L.
Swedish name:		Humle
German name:		Hopfen
Nederlandse naam:		Hop
English name:		Common hop
Family:		Cannabaceae, Cannabis and Hop family, Hampväxter

Life form:		Perennial vine
Stems:		Height 1- 6m, covered with hooked thorns and glandular dots
Leaves:		Opposite, broad, palmately lobed and veined
Flowers:		Cream colored; separate male and female plants; male and female flowers spring from the axils of the leaves on separate plants; flowers of the male plant grow in panicles, 3 to 5 inches long, but are not cultivated; female flowers are used for medicinal purposes
Flowering Period:		June-July
Fruits:		The fruit of the female plant are called strobiles and resemble small pine cones
Habitat:		Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, shrublands or thickets
Distribution:		Southern and central Sweden, but along the coast even farther north

Derivation of the botanical name: Humulus, Low German word humela for hop, which is the common name of this genus placed by Munz in the Moraceae or mulberry family, but moved by Jepson along with Cannabis into the new family Cannabaceae. lupulus literally a "small wolf," alluding to the plant's habit of climbing over and smothering trees on which it grows. H. lupulus is the European hop and was once called "willow-wolf" because of its propensity for climbing on willows. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The female fruit of the common hop is used to flavor beer and prevent bacterial contamination during fermenting.