Humulus japonicus, is a plant of the genus Humulus in the mulberry family.

Humulus lupulus, is a perennial twining herb with barbed spines on stems, branches, and petioles.

Leaves are papery, reniform-pentagonal, palmately 5- to 7-parted sparsely 3-lobed, ca. 7 to 10 centimeters in length and width, base heart-shaped, surface rough, sparsely strigose, abaxially pilose and yellow glandular, lobes ovate-triangular, margins serrate; petiole 5 to 10 centimeters long. Male flowers small, yellow-green, paniculate, ca. 15 to 25 cm; female inflorescences globose, ca. 5 mm in diameter, bracts papery, triangular, apically acuminate, white tomentose; ovary surrounded by bracts, stigmas 2, protruding from bracts.

Achenes exposed outside bracts at maturity. Fl. spring-summer, fr. autumn.

In China, except for Xin and Qing, it is distributed in all provinces and districts in the north and south. Often born in ditches, wastelands, ruins, forest margins.

Humulus japonicus has a very strong adaptive ability, and its adaptive range is particularly wide. It can grow in environments where the average annual temperature ranges from 5.7 to 22 degrees Celsius, the annual precipitation ranges from 350 to 1,400 millimeters, and the soil pH ranges from 4.0 to 8.5. Humulus lupulus likes to grow on fertile soil, but it can also grow on poor soil, but it grows more vigorously on fertile soil. The male and female plants do not flower at the same time, the male plant blooms in late July, while the female plant blooms in mid-August, and the growth is slow after blooming; the seeds mature in late September, and the growth of humus also stops.

Humulus japonicus has a sweet and bitter flavor. It has the effect of clearing heat and diuretic.

Humulus japonicus can be green fodder, silage or sun hay. It can be grazed in the vigorous growth stage, or fed while harvesting. In the fall maturity stage can be a large number of harvest, silage. Sun hay, crushed into grass powder and added to the feed for laying hens and geese, the survival rate and egg-laying rate are improved; feeding long-haired rabbits and pigs, the laying rate increased significantly. Adding a certain amount of dry powder of Humulus lupulus in feed can obviously improve the adaptability of animals to the environment, regulate the nutritional balance, and enhance the digestion and absorption function.

Because of its strong nature, strong resistance, can be used as soil and water conservation plants.