HUMULUS, the HOP; a genus of the pentandria order, belonging to the diœcia class of plants. There is only one species, viz. the lupulus, which is sometimes found wild in hedges near houses and gardens,
but probably is not indigenous. The stalk is weak and climbing; it creeps up the support in a spiral, ascending always from the right hand to the left. The stalk and the leaves are rough to the touch: the upper leaves are heart-shaped, the lower ones divided into three lobes serrated on the edges, and grow in pairs on long footstalks. The male flowers grow on a distinct plant on branched peduncles; the females on peduncles in pairs of the form of a strobilus or cone, composed of large imbricated calyces containing each one or two seeds. For the culture and uses of hops, see the article HOP.