XX. 11. THE LABRADOR TEA. 395 



Corolla pale rose-colored, with cavities to receive the ten an- 

 thers, which are supported on stamens proceeding from the cen- 

 tral portion of the corolla, with filaments surrounded by a circle 

 of hairs at the base, and brown anthers. 



This plant is found in Richmond, in Berkshire, and in a few 

 other places in the State. Dr. Alexander pointed it out to me 

 in Hubbardston, growing with Ledum, in an open, sphagnous 

 swamp, which had been used as a reservoir for a mill-stream, 

 and had thus been kept full of water nearly throughout the 

 year. When I gathered these plants there, the swamp was 

 overgrown with a most abundant growth of Cassandra calycu- 

 lata, covering the surface with a purplish brown hue. Amidst 

 this the sphagnum had formed masses a foot or two above the 

 general level, on which the Ledum and Kalmia were growing ; 

 their long, prostrate, root-like stems penetrating to a consider- 

 able distance in the spongy mass. On the edges were Rhodora 

 and Andromeda ; the general, more wet level was occupied by 

 cotton grass, and the dry banks by narrow-leaved Kalmia, 

 huckleberries and other shrubs that avoid the water. It is found 

 from near the Arctic circle in Canada to Pennsylvania. 



The flower of Kalmia glauca has been compared to a minia- 

 ture parasol, the corolla to the covering, the stamens to the ribs, 

 and the style to the handle. 



XX. 11. THE LABRADOR TEA. LE^DUM. L. 



A genus of two species of low, evergreen undershrubs, with 

 alternate, coriaceous leaves, more or less revolute, downy be- 

 neath, odorous when crushed ; and white flowers in terminal 

 corymbs, — found in cool, wet places, in the northern regions of 

 both continents. The calyx is five- toothed ; the corolla has five 

 spreading petals ; stamens five or ten ; capsule five-celled, many- 

 seeded, with five valves opening from the bottom upwards ; seeds 

 numerous, linear, with a membranous wing on each side. The 

 species which is common to the two continents, has a bitter and 

 astringent taste and narcotic properties. In Russia, the leaves 

 are used in tanning, and are substituted for hops in beer, which 

 has, in consequence, the property of causing headache and ver- 

 tigo. One species is found in Massachusetts. 



