Hops
Humulus lupulus
A vigorous herbaceous climber that twines clockwise up hedges and scrub on rough, bristly stems, carrying paired, sharply toothed leaves lobed much like a grape vine's. Female plants bear drooping clusters of pale, papery cones from late summer; rubbed open, these shed sticky yellow lupulin, the resin that gives beer its bitterness. Young spring shoots are also picked and cooked like thin asparagus.
Native in hedgerows, scrub, damp woodland edges and riverside thickets through southern and central England and Wales, thinning northwards, scrambling over willow, blackthorn and hawthorn. Further north it is usually a garden escape or a relic of old hop gardens.
Cones and young shoots are eaten and brewed with, but handling quantities of ripe cones can bring on an itchy rash from the lupulin resin, so cover arms and hands. White bryony (Bryonia dioica) shares the same hedgerows and has similarly lobed leaves, but climbs by coiled tendrils, sets its leaves alternately and ripens red berries; it is toxic. Hops are traditionally taken as a tea for sleep, and can add to drowsiness.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Climbing habit
Twines its whole stem clockwise around supports, reaching six metres in a season, and produces no tendrils at all. The stems are rough with tiny hooked bristles that catch on skin.
Leaves
Opposite, in pairs at each node, on long stalks, palmately three- to five-lobed and coarsely toothed, sandpapery on both surfaces. The paired arrangement separates it from the alternate-leaved bryonies that share the same hedges.
Female cones
Pale green, 2–5 cm, made of overlapping papery bracts and hanging in loose clusters from late summer. They dry to a straw colour and rustle.
Lupulin test
Pull a cone apart and look at the base of the bracts for sticky bright yellow grains with a resinous, bitter, slightly citrus smell. No lupulin and no bitterness means it is not a hop.
Male plants
Separate plants bear open sprays of small greenish flowers and never form cones, so half the plants in a hedge give nothing to pick.
Updated 2026-08-07T20:41:52.392Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Fruit