Ledum palustre subsp. decumbens
(Ait.) Hulten,
Marsh labrador tea
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(c) James Mickley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) James Mickley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
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(c) CatherineK, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
(c) CatherineK, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves - tea
The leaf tips are dried and brewed as tea, providing flavoring.
Where to Find It
It is a cold temperate plant.
Alaska, Arctic, Greenland, Mongolia, North America, USA,
Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mongolia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent
How to Identify
A low woody shrub in the heather family found in cold temperate regions. The leaves are dried and used to make tea.
Medicinal Uses
Rhododendron tomentosum is used in herbalism to make an herbal tea called "Labrador tea". However, no material benefit has been documented in any properly controlled study.
Names & Synonyms
Ayuq, Bog tea, Hudson's bay tea
Ledum decumbens (Aiton) Lodd. ex Steud.Ledum palustre var. decumbens AitonLedum palustre f. decumbens (Aiton) Y.L. Chou & S.L. TungRhododendron subarcticum HarmajaRhododendron tomentosum subsp. decumbens (Aiton) Elven & D.F. Murray
References (5)
- Ager, T. A. & Ager, L. P., 1980, Ethnobotany of the eskimos of Nelson Island, Alaska. Arctic Anthropology Vol 17. No. 1 pp 26-48
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 476
- Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 300
- Porsild, A.E., 1953, Edible Plants of the Arctic, Arctic 6:15-34, page 31
- Urgamal, M., Oyuntsetseg, B., Nyambayar, D. & Dulamsuren, Ch. 2014. Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia. (Editors: Sanchir, Ch. & Jamsran, Ts.). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “Admon“ Press. 334pp. (p. 79-90).
