CHAPTER XXV. 



CANNABACE^. 



I. General characters of the Order. — Flowers unisexual ; dice- 

 cious. 



Male flowers with a five-leaved perianth and androecium of 

 five stamens, the filaments of which are erect in the flower-bud. 



Female flowers hypogynous, with a small entire cup-shaped 

 perianth surrounding the ovary. The gynaecium possesses a 

 one-celled ovary with a single ovule within ; stigmas two, decidu- 

 ous, long and papillose. Fruit, a form of nut, dry, indehiscent, 

 containing a single, pendulous seed. Seed with a curved or 

 spirally-rolled embryo and very small reserve of endosperm. 



This is a very small Order containing but two genera and 

 three species. It is often treated as a sub-order of the Urticacese 

 or nettle family. The flowers are wind fertilised. 



The plants representing the whole Order are — The Common 

 Hop (Humulus Lupulus L.) ; Japanese Hop (Humulus japonims 

 Sieb. et Zucc.) ; and Hemp (Cannabis saliva L.). 



2. The Japanese Hop (Humulus japonicus Sieb. et Zucc.) is an 

 annual sometimes grown in gardens as an ornamental climbing 

 plant on account of its rapid growth. It resembles the Common 

 Hop in its stems and leaves, but the female inflorescences or 

 strobiles contain no ' lupulin ' and are consequently useless for 

 brewing purposes. 



3. The Common Hop (Humulus Lupulus L.) is a perennial 

 herbaceous plant, cultivated almost entirely for the female in- 

 florescences, which are employed in the manufacture of beer. 

 It is probably indigenous in the British Isles, but most of the 



