The dried, flowering part of the plant is used to make medicine. Hops is used for anxiety, inability to sleep (insomnia) and other sleep disorders, restlessness, tension, excitability, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nervousness, and irritability.
Hops is a plant that grows on bines; long stout stems with strong hairs to aid climbing that can reach 22 feet in height. This herb bears dark green colored, heart-shaped leaves on a fibrous stalk with finely toothed edges. The male and female flowers spring from the axils of the leaves on separate plants. The flowers of the male plant grow in panicles, 3 to 5 inches long, but are not cultivated. Only the female flowers are used for medicinal purposes.