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Ledum groenlandicum

Common name:	Labrador Tea	Family:	Ericaceae
Author:	Oeder.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:	Ledum palustre groenlandicum ((Oeder.)Hulten.), Ledum pacificum (Small.), Ledum latifolium (Jacq.)
Known Hazards:	Plants contain a narcotic toxin called Ledel. This toxin only causes problems if the leaves are cooked for a long period in a closed container[172].
Range:	Eastern and Northern N. America to Greenland. A rare garden escape in Britain.
Habitat:	Cold bogs and montane coniferous woods[4, 50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	L. palustre ssp. groenlandicum[B,P] L. palustre var. latifolium[B,P] Rhododendron groenlandicum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Amerikan Biberiyesi [E], Bog Labrador Tea [FEIS], Bog Labradortea [P], Labrador Tea [H,S], Labrador Tea - Michigan [S], Rusty Labrador-tea [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Heath family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Canada(Kwakiutl); Canada(Salish); Turkey; Us(Blackfoot)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 1.5m by 1.5m . . It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Tea.

A fragrant and soothing tea is made from the leaves[2, 4, 95, 102, 172]. The spicy leaves make a very palatable and refreshing tea[183]. The North American Indians would often flavour this tea with the roots of liquorice fern, Polypodium glycyrrhiza[256]. When lemon is added they can be used as iced tea[183]. The leaves were once added to beer in order to make it heady[183]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity. It would be better to brew the tea in cold water by leaving it in a sunny place, or to make sure that it is brewed for a short time only in an open container.
The leaves are used as a flavouring, they are a bayleaf substitute[172].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic; Birthing aid; Blood purifier; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Kidney; Narcotic; Pectoral; Poultice; Salve; Tonic.

Labrador tea was employed medicinally by several native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of complaints[257]. In modern herbalism it is occasionally used externally to treat a range of skin problems.
The leaves are analgesic, blood purifier, diaphoretic, diuretic, pectoral and tonic[4, 172, 222, 257]. A tea is taken internally in the treatment of headaches, asthma, colds, stomach aches, kidney ailments etc[222, 257]. Externally, it is used as a wash for burns, ulcers, itches, chapped skin, stings, dandruff etc[222, 238, 257]. An ointment made from the powdered leaves or roots has been used to treat ulcers, cracked nipples, burns and scalds[257].
The plant is apparently a mild narcotic, it was taken by Indian women three times daily shortly before giving birth[207]

Other Uses

Dye; Insecticide; Parasiticide; Repellent; Tannin.

The leaves are hung up in the clothes cupboard in order to repel insects[4]. The branches are also placed among grain in order to keep mice away[4]. A strong decoction of the leaves, or a tincture, is used to kill lice, mosquitoes, fleas and other insects[4, 207, 238].
The leaves contain tannin[4].
A brown dye is obtained from the plant[257].

Cultivation details

Requires a lime-free loam or peaty soil[1, 11]. Prefers a moist humus-rich acid soil in shade or semi-shade[200]. Plants flower more freely when grown in a sunny position. Plants grow better if they have certain fungal associations in the soil. The best way of providing this is to incorporate some soil from around well-growing established plants into the soil for the new plant[200].
Hardy to at least -15°c[200].
The leaves and the flowers are very aromatic[182, 245].
Plants benefit from removing the dead flowers before they set seed[188]. This prevents them putting too much energy into seed production at the expense of more flowers and leaves.
This species is considered by some botanists to be no more than a sub-species of L. palustre[11, 50].
A good bee plant[4].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a shady part of the greenhouse in February or March[78, 113]. Another report says that the seed is best sown in the autumn as soon as it is ripe[188]. Germination is variable and can be quite slow. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the pots on in a shady frame for 18 months before planting them out into their permanent positions[78].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Plant out in spring. Fair percentage[78].
Cuttings of mature wood, November/December in a frame[113].
Layering in the autumn. Takes 12 months[78].
Division.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The small white flowers are aromatic.
Leaves: Crushed: The leaves are very aromatic.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Ledum latifolium (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Ericaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data for parts of family Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.