Humulus lupulus L. - HopMorphology and taxonomy - Subject of Art and Civilization

Abstract: Different aspects of hop arc described: its morphology and taxonomy (hop is a member of the Canabaceae family) and its role in ail and civilization. For the first time hop is mentioned as vegetable in litirature by Plinius II (23-79 AC) in his famous Naturalis historia. Later (768 AC) hop is cultivated in Middle Europe as an additive for the production of beer. The beginning of the use of hops (Lupuli strobulus) as a sedative medicine is still unknown. - In some German cathedrals (Ulm, Mainz, Altenberg) and in some paintings of Grünewald and Otto Dix hop leaves and cones arc presented. Also the poets Günter Eich and Michael Gabor describe in their poems hop as metapher for melancholy and for the perpetually self-renewing life cycle.

Keyword(s): Humutus lupulus L.

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