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Hops

Humulus lupulus

Bed: "At Sindal Old Rectory"

Toxicity:

Longevity: unknown

History

An ancient, cultivated plant. The monks laid out hops gardens apparently for both beer brewing and medicinal purposes. The hops flower, the so-called hop cone, contains a bitter substance, lupulin, which gives beer its taste and causes sleepiness. In the Middle Ages hops were used for liver diseases, as a depurant, as a laxative and as sleeping medicine.