What makes the hops that Monastery of Christ in the Desert sells most interesting is not necessarily that monks grow them, but that they are bred from native American hops, otherwise known as neomexicanus. This can be a bit confusing because the botanical name has nothing to do with the state of New Mexico, where the monastery is situated and the hops were bred.
So a quick bit of history: The genus Humulus likely originated in Mongolia at least six million years ago. A European type diverged from that Asian group more than one million years ago; a North American group migrated from the Asian continent about 500,000 years later. Five botanical varieties of lupulus exist: cordifolius (found in Eastern Asia, Japan), lupuldoides (Eastern and north-central North America), lupulus (Europe, Asia, Africa; later introduced to North America), neomexicanus (Western North America), and pubescens (primarily Midwestern United States).
Popular European varieties, such as Saaz or Hersbrucker, may be simple humulus lupulus, but many of today’s most popular hops, such as Citra and Mosaic, are the offspring of both lupulus and neomexicanus.