i86 Heath (Ericacece) 



(9) Genus LEDUM, L. 

 Fig. 86. Labrador Tea. L. latifblium, Ait. 



Flowers, white, small, in terminal clusters of about twelve 

 or more blossoms. Corolla, of five separate petals, 

 spreading and reverse egg-shape. Calyx, minute. 

 Stamens, five to seven. Anthers, opening by terminal 

 pores. Seed-case, not adherent to the calyx. May, 

 July. 



Leaves, one to two inches long, oblong or narrow-oblong, 

 alternate, entire, margins strongly rolled, persistent ; 

 smooth above, very thickly covered beneath with a 

 dense white or rusty wool. 



Fruit, oblong, pointed, five-celled, many-seeded, splitting 

 from the base upward ; a capsule. 



Found, in mountain woods and cold, damp ground from 

 Pennsylvania to New England, westward and north- 

 ward. 



A shrub one to three feet high, easily recognized by 

 its woolly-lined leaves. The leaves are very astringent, 

 and have been used as a substitute for tea. 



An introduced species found in Labrador and north- 

 westward is L. palustre, L., with narrower leaves, ten 

 stamens, and shorter fruit. 



