A long stemmed vine grown on a trellis with cone like flowering structures that are harvested for flavouring beer.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two.
Leaves:
No milky juice.
Stipules -
Petiole -
Blade - Divided.
Stem leaves -
Stems:
Vine up to 8000 mm long. No milky juice.
Flower head:
Cone like.
Flowers:
Male and female flowers on different plants(dioecious).
Ovary -
Calyx -
Perianth -
Sepals -
Petals -
Stamens -
Anthers -
Fruit:
Seeds:
Roots:
Perennial rootstock.
Key Characters:
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual stem with a perennial rootstock. Root cuttings are normally planted in spring. Active growth is from December to March. Stems are thinned and trained onto a high trellis. Stems are cut and the flowering structures removed and dried. Tops are normally cut back in autumn ready for re shooting in spring.
Physiology:
Female plants produce the commercial crop.
Frost sensitive. Wind sensitive.
Harvested for the resins and alpha acids in small, golden masses on the bracts of the cone like panicle or flowering structure. Resin content is affected by the amount of sunlight received.
Reproduction:
By seed and rootstock.
Flowering times:
Summer.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
Rootstock.
Hybrids:
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread mainly by intentional planting of divided rootstocks.
Origin and History:
Asia. Europe.
Introduced as a crop.
Distribution:
NSW, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Temperate.
Soil:
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Grown as a flavouring for beer.
Detrimental:
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Herbicide resistance:
Biological Control:
Sensitive to downy and powdery mildew, root rot, Two Spotted Mite and viruses.
Related plants:
Hemp or Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is in the same family.
Plants of similar appearance:
References:
Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P260.
Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J. and Lloyd, S.G. (1997). Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. (Plant Protection Society of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia). P126.
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). P659.1
Reid, R.L. (1990) The Manual of Australian Agriculture. (Butterworths, Sydney). P133-135.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.