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Ledum groenlandicum Oeder

Labrador Tea

Modern name

Ledum palustre subsp. groenlandicum (Oeder) Hultén

Synonyms

L. latifolium Jacq.; L. palustre subsp. groenlandicum (Oeder) Hulten; L. pacificum Small

An evergreen shrub 2 to 3 ft high and as much in diameter; branches erect, clothed when young with more or less rust-coloured wool. Leaves aromatically fragrant when bruised, narrowly oblong or oval, 12 to 2 in. long, 14 to 12 in. wide, the margins much recurved, the base tapering or slightly heart-shaped, dark green with a few loose hairs above, covered beneath with a thick rust-coloured felt. Flowers in rounded terminal clusters 2 in. across, consisting of one or more corymbs; each flower 12 to 34 in. across, white, borne on a slender, downy stalk 12 to 1 in. long. Calyx edged with very minute teeth; petals oblong; stamens five to eight, sometimes more; seed-vessel somewhat cylindrical in shape.

Native of N. America, also of Greenland; introduced in 1763. A very hardy and pretty shrub, the commonest of the ledums in gardens and the most useful. It flowers from the end of April to June. From L. palustre it is distinguished by its leaves being twice as wide. It has been said that it further differs in its fewer stamens (five to eight against seven to eleven in L. palustre), but according to Hulten (Fl. Alaska and Yukon (1948), p. 1219) this character is not reliable. He considers that L. groenlandicum should rank as a subspecies of L. palustre but it seems preferable to retain it as a species until this complex has been studied in detail throughout its vast geographical range. It also varies to some extent in stature and shape of leaf.

cv. ‘Compactum’. – Of dwarf habit, with short branches, very woolly stems, short broad leaves, and small flower clusters.


Genus

Ledum

Other species in the genus