Rhododendron groenlandicum – Labrador tea
Common Name
Labrador tea
Alternate Common Names
- bog Labrador tea
Family
Ericaceae
Scientific Name
Rhododendron groenlandicum
Alternate Scientific Name
- Ledum groenlandicum;
- Ledum latifolium
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
- Wet (W)
- Very Wet (VW)
Soil Nutrient Regime (SNR)
- Poor (P)
Video link
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual © 1973. Reprinted with permission of the University of Washington Press.
Photo Gallery
General / Habitat
- Evergreen shrub
- Occurs in bogs and peatlands or any highly acidic/nutrient-poor soils
- Low to middle elevations
- Gets its name from the fact that it was brewed into a tea by many aboriginal groups and European traders across Canada
Key Identifying Characteristics
- Form: highly branched, 0.5-1.5 m tall
- Leaves: Alternate; narrow and leathery leaves approximately 6 cm long with margins rolled under and rusty hairs beneath
- Flowers: White with protruding stamens, borne in umbrella-like clusters
- Fruit: Drooping cluster of hairy capsules
- Other: Spicy fragrance
Lookalikes
- Western bog-laurel (Kalmia microphylla)
- has white hairs beneath and opposite leaves
- Trapper’s tea (Ledum glandulosum)
- has whitish-hairy leaf undersides
- Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
- has powdery and hairless leaf undersides
External References
Sources
Douglas, G.W. et al (Editors). 1998-2002. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Volumes 1 to 8. B.C. Min. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Min. For., Victoria, B.C.
Pojar, J. and A. MacKinnon. 2014. Plants of Coastal British Columbia Including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. B.C. Ministry of Forestry and Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, B.C.