Labrador Tea

Ledum groenlandicum

Foliage Type:

leaf

Arrangement:

simple, alternate

Distinguishing features: an evergreen shrub approximately 1 foot high branchlets - rusty-wooly when young leaves - 1/2 to 2 inches long leaves - short-stalked, elliptic to narrowly oblong, roundish at base, bluntly pointed at tip margin - untoothed and strongly rolled inward beneath leaves - leathery, smooth and bright green above, densely rusty-wooly beneath

Habitats:	wet mesic sites (peaty soils) wet sites (bogs)
Often confused with:	Bog Rosemary Leatherleaf
Ecological Value:
Did You Know?	tannin from the leaves used by Russians in tanning leather farmers mix Labrador tea with corn to deter mice the roots can extend 20 inches into the soil the tea made from this plant is high in vitamin C
Uses / Ethnobotanical uses:	Leaves used by American Indians as tea for asthma, colds, stomachaches, kidney ailments, scurvy, fevers, rheumatism, "blood purifier" Externally, as a wash for burns, ulcers, stings, chafing, poison-ivy rash Folk remedy for coughs, lung ailments, dysentery, indigestion Used externally for leprosy, itching and to kill lice