Twining plants, with lobed, rough-textured leaves. Dioecious, so male and female flowers on separate plants. The hops harvested for brewing are from female plants.
Native in Great Britain although not in Ireland, hop is a familiar plant, both in cultivation and in its main natural habitat, forming festoons on the bushes and trees that fringe water-bodies. Being wind-pollinated, its flowers do not attract pollinators, but its leaves are the food plant for a wide range of insects, including comma butterfly and buttoned snout and pale tussock moths. Its rampant growth over a hedge or fence provides shelter for nesting birds.