Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Ericales > Ericaceae > Rhododendron > Rhododendron groenlandicum

Rhododendron groenlandicum (rusty labrador-tea; bog Labrador tea)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Rhododendron groenlandicum (bog Labrador tea, formerly Ledum groenlandicum or Ledum latifolium), is a flowering shrub with white flowers and evergreen leaves that is used to make a herbal tea. It is a low shrub growing to 50 centimetres (20 in) (rarely up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in)) tall with evergreen leaves 20–60 millimetres (0.79–2.36 in) long and 3–15 millimetres (0.12–0.59 in) broad. The leaves are wrinkled on top, densely hairy white to red-brown underneath, and have a leathery texture, curling at the edges. The tiny white flowers grow in hemispherical clusters and are very fragrant and sticky.
View Wikipedia Record: Rhododendron groenlandicum

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium
Screening - Summer [2]  Moderate
Screening - Winter [2]  Porous
Bloom Period [2]  Late Spring
Drought Tolerance [2]  Medium
Edible [3]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [2]  Medium
Flower Type [3]  Hermaphrodite
Frost Free Days [2]  3 months 5 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [2]  Medium
Fruit/Seed Begin [2]  Spring
Fruit/Seed End [2]  Summer
Growth Form [2]  Multiple Stem
Growth Period [2]  Spring
Growth Rate [2]  Slow
Hazards [3]  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;
Leaf Type [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Pollinators [3]  Bees
Propagation [2]  Bare Root, Container, Seed
Root Depth [2]  18 inches (46 cm)
Scent [3]  The small white flowers are aromatic.
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Slow
Seed Vigor [2]  Medium
Shape/Orientation [2]  Erect
Structure [3]  Shrub
Usage [3]  The leaves are hung up in the clothes cupboard in order to repel insects; The branches are also placed among grain in order to keep mice away; A strong decoction of the leaves, or a tincture, is used to kill lice, mosquitoes, fleas and other insects; The leaves contain tannin; A brown dye is obtained from the plant;
Vegetative Spread Rate [2]  None
Flower Color [2]  White
Foliage Color [2]  Gray-Green
Height [3]  4.92 feet (1.5 m)
Width [3]  4.92 feet (1.5 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [2]  USDA Zone: 3 Low Temperature: -40 F° (-40 C°) → -30 F° (-34.4 C°)
Light Preference [2]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [2]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [2]  Infertile
Water Use [2]  Moderate
View Plants For A Future Record : Rhododendron groenlandicum

Protected Areas

Ecosystems

Predators

Providers

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 3Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 4Making The Forest And Tundra Wildlife Connection
♦ 5Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
♦ 6HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 7Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 8Small, E. 1976. Insect pollinators of the Mer Bleue peat bog of Ottawa. Canadian Field Naturalist 90:22-28.
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0