Humulus lupulus – Hops

Hops is most well known as a flavoring for beer – acids in the vine’s flowers provide a bitter flavor and essential oils impart Floral, Citrusy, Spicy and Fruity flavors and aromas. Hops is also used by herbalists medicinally and about half the new shoots in Spring can be harvested as a vegetable. Hops flowers can also be steeped for tea. Hops was brought to North America by European colonists, though the vine is also native. The native varieties (H. lupulus var. lupuloides and var. pubescens) are difficult to distinguish from the European one (H. lupulus var. lupulus) and current distributions are a bit of a mishmash (there’s also an invasive member of the genus in our area, Japanese hops). A number of butterflies, Gray Hairstreak, Comma, Compton Tortoiseshell, Mourning Cloak, Question Mark and Red Admiral use native hops as a host plant and can also feed on the European variety. So it’s a good wildlife plant as well as an edible and medicinal one.

We offer 3 varieties: ‘Chinook’ ‘Nugget’ and ‘Willamette’