Humulus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Humulus
Common Hop plant (Humulus lupulus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Humulus
L.
Species

See text.

Synonyms[1]
  • Lupulus Mill.
  • Waldensia Lavy

Humulus, or hop, is a small

temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Hops are the female flowers (seed cones, strobiles) of the hop species H. lupulus; as a main flavor and aroma ingredient in many beer
styles, H. lupulus is widely cultivated for use by the brewing industry.

Description

Although frequently referred to in American literature as the hops "vine", it is technically a

leaves are opposite, with a 7 to 12 cm (2+3⁄4 to 4+3⁄4 in) leafstalk and a heart-shaped, fan-lobed blade 12 to 25 cm (4+3⁄4 to 9+3⁄4 in) long and broad; the edges are coarsely toothed. When the hop bines run out of material to climb, horizontal shoots sprout between the leaves of the main stem to form a network of stems wound round each other.[2]

Male and female flowers of the hop plant are

dioecious, developing on separate plants. Female plants, which produce the hop flowers used in brewing beer, are often propagated vegetatively and grown in the absence of male plants. This prevents pollination and the development of viable seeds, which are sometimes considered undesirable for brewing beer owing to the potential for off-flavors arising from the introduction of fatty acids from the seeds.[3]

The characteristic bitterness imparted by the addition of hops to the brewing process is mainly due to the presence of the bitter acids, which are prenylated acylphloroglucinol derivatives.

prenylated chalcone, and other compounds.[10]

Taxonomy

Humulus japonicus leaves

As of October 2020, the following species were accepted:[1]

For brewers' hops, which are specific cultivars, and propagated by asexual reproduction, see the article, "List of hop varieties".

Uses

Hops are boiled with the wort in brewing beer and sometimes added post-ferment; they impart a bitterness, flavor, as well as aroma to the finished product.[5]

In pharmacy lupulus is the designation of hop. The dried catkins, commonly referred to as hop cones, of the female plant of H. lupulus are used to prepare infusion of hop, tincture of hop, and extract of hop.[11]

Some of the compounds hops contain are under preliminary research for their potential health properties.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Humulus L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  2. ISBN 9781405332965
    .
  3. ^ Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Economic Plants and their Diseases, Pests and Weeds. Humulus lupulus. Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ISBN 978-0-444-88165-6
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.1002/jib.160
    .
  6. PMID 18598038
    .
  7. PMID 23239507
    .
  8. doi:10.1590/S0100-40422000000100019
    .
  9. ISBN 9780080451251
    .
  10. ^
    PMID 15231405
    .
  11. ^ Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Hop" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Humulus&oldid=1198195512"