Hops

Scientific name: Humulus lupulus L.

Common name: hops.

English name: hops, common hop.

Parts used: strobilus and flowers.

Components: essential oil, flavonoids, phenolic acids, phytoestrogens. 

Properties: promotes sleep and relaxation in case of stress.  Flavoring, digestive, sedative, stomachic, male anaphrodisiac.

A plant with disordered bearing, which tends to twist around other plants. It vegetates from the plane up to 1200 meters. It's female inflorescences are globular and pendulous, composed of numerous ovate bracts, sharpened at the top, which are called hop cones. Inside they contain abundant golden yellow glandular hairs. Cone powder (hops) should be carefully preserved. By rubbing the bracts a characteristic spicy smell is obtained, while the taste is bitter.

Curiosity: hops are involved in the preparation of beer and were mentioned as an ingredient in 822 for the first time by a Carolingian abbot and again in 1067 by the Abbess Hildegard of Bingen. A great leap in the production of the drink destined for the sick and pilgrims occurred in the Monasteries during the Middle Ages.

The use of cushions filled with hops that have been aged 2 years is still considered useful for sleeping peacefully and preventing enuresis in children.