Humulus lupulus  Humulus lupulus (common hop or hops) is a species of flowering plant in the hemp family (Cannabaceae), native to Europe, western Asia and North America. It is a dioecious, perennial, herbaceous climbing plant which sends up new shoots in early spring and dies back to a cold-hardy rhizome in autumn. Hops are described as bine plants rather than vine because, unlike vines, they have stiff downward facing hairs that provide stability and allow them to climb. These shoots allow "H. lupulus" to grow anywhere from . Hops have fragrant, wind-pollinated flowers that attract butterflies. The female cone shaped fruits from "H. lupulus" are used by breweries to preserve and flavor beer, and so "H. lupulus" is widely cultivated for use by the brewing industry. The fragrant flower cones, known as hops, impart a bitter flavor, and also have aromatic and preservative qualities. "H. lupulus" contains myrcene, humulene, xanthohumol, myrcenol, linalool, tannins, and resin. The genus name "Humulus" is a Medieval name that was at some point Latinized after being borrowed from a Germanic source exhibiting the h•m•l consonant cluster, as in Middle Low German "homele". According to Soviet Iranist V. Abaev this could be a word of Sarmatian origin which is presented in modern Ossetian language () and derives from proto-Iranian "hauma-arayka", an "Aryan haoma". From Sarmatian dialects this word spread across Eurasia, thus creating a group of related words in Turkic, Finno-Ugric, Slavic and Germanic languages (see , Chuvash "хăмла", Finnish "humala", Hungarian "komló", Mordovian "комла", Avar "хомеллег"). The specific epithet, "lupulus," is Latin for small wolf. The name refers to the plant's tendency to strangle other plants, mainly osiers or basket willows ("Salix viminalis"), like a wolf does a sheep. Hops could be seen growing over these willows so often that it was named the willow-wolf. The English word "hop" is derived from the Middle Dutch word , also meaning "Humulus lupulus".