442 . ERICACEAE. Kalmia. 



margin (especially in the narrow-leaved forms) often revolute. Pedicels filiform, erect, very 

 smooth, 1 - 1^ inch long, conspicuously bracteate at the base. Calyx whitish tinged with 

 purple ; the segments large, ovate, obtuse, concave, ciliolate. Corolla rose-color, larger than 

 in the preceding species. Anthers dark brown. Capsule ovoid-globose, large, thin and 

 coriaceous, very smooth. Seeds linear, with a loose reticulated testa ; the nucleus proportion- 

 ally very small. 



Sphagnous swamps ; from Hudson and Catskill northward ; also in the western part of the 

 Stale. Fl. June - July. Fr. September. 



8. LEDUM. Linn. ; Endl. gen. ^ZA^. Labrador tea. 



[ Ledon was the Greek name of a plant resembling this genus in its foliage.] 



Calyx small, 5-toothed. Corolla 5-petalled, spreading. Stamens 5-10; the anthers opening 

 by two terminal pores. Capsule ovoid or oblong, 5-celled, 5-valved. Seeds linear, with a 

 membranaceous wing at each end. — Small evergreen astringent shrubs, somewhat odorous 

 when bruised. Leaves alternate, entire, the under surface clothed with a dense ferruginous 

 wool ; with the margins revolute. Flowers white, pedicellate, in terminal umbellate corymbs. 



1. Ledum palustre, Linn. Labrador Tea. 



Hook. fl. Bar. -Am. 2. p. 44. L. latifolium, Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 172. 



var. 1. angustifoliwn : leaves linear ; stamens mostly 10. — Hook. I. c. L. palustre, Linn, 

 sp. 1. p. 591 ; Fl. Dan. t. 1031 ; Pursh, fl. \. p.<^0 ; Lodd. hot. cah. t. 560 ; Ton: fl. 1. 

 p. 437 ; Beck, hot. p. 222 ; DC. prodr. 7. p. 730. 



var. 2. latifolium : leaves oblong ; stamens mostly 5. — Michx. fl. 1. p. 259 ; Hook. I. c. 

 L. latifolium, Ait. Keio. (ed. 1.) 2. p. 04 ; " Jacq. ic. rar. 3. t. 464 ;" Lara. ill. t. 363 ; 

 Pursh, I. c. ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 172 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 437 ; Beck, hot. p. 222 ; DC. I. a. 



A branching shrub, about 2 feet high. Leaves 1 - 2J inches wide : in the first var. 2-4 

 lines wide ; in the other, from 4-8 lines , distinctly revolute on the margin, deep green 

 above, the under surface (as well as the younger branches) clothed with a very dense and soft 

 brown wool ; the petiole 2-3 lines long. Flowers numerous, in dense corymbose clusters ; 

 the pedicels slender and pubescent. Bracts large, obovate, covered with resinous dots. Petals 

 obovatc, obtuse. Stamens a little longer than the corolla : in the broad-leaved variety, usually 

 5, but often 6 or more ; in the narrow-leaved form, mostly 10. Style declinatc : stigma small, 

 capitate. Capsule oblong, covered with resinous particles. 



Sphagnous swamps, from about Hudson northward ; frequent (the broad-leaved variety). 

 Fl. May - June ; and on high mountains, as late as Jidy. Fr. August. The narrow-leaved 

 form I have not found withui the Stale, but according to Pursh it grows on tlic borders of our 

 mountain lakes. I follow Michaux and Hooker in regarding the former as but a variety 

 of the latter. Both are very astringent, and have been used as substitutes for tea, but Dr. 

 Richardson remarks that the narrow-leaved kind is preferable for this purpose. 



