26 



TREES AND FLOWERS OF 



(white) 



(red) 



LABRADOR TEA 



HUCKLEBERRY 



Labrador Tea (Ledum). This is an exceedingly 

 common shrub in the Park, growing mostly in the 

 shade of the forests. It branches freely, and reaches 

 a height of three or four feet. The creamy-white 

 flowers grow in umbrella-shaped clusters, usually at 

 the ends of the branches. The leaves are from one 

 and one-half to three inches long, dark green on top 

 and whitish and powdery underneath. Their edges 

 are without teeth, and tend to curl backward toward 

 the midrib. The green parts of the plant, especially 

 the leaves, are more or less beset with resinous dots, 

 and have a somewhat fragrant odor when bruised. 



Huckleberry (Vaccinium). The huckleberry here 

 is a very low, slender shrub, never exceeding a few 

 inches in height. It is found only above the seven- 

 thousand foot level, on the park plateau, as a ground 

 cover in somewhat open stands of lodgepole pine, such 

 as occur around the upper geyser basin. In such 

 places it grows literally as thick as grass, completely 

 carpeting the ground. The slender stem is generally 

 ridged or angled, and the green bark has a surface 

 suggestive of finely pebbled leather. The leaves are 

 small, thick and tough. The small, pinkish flowers 

 blossom early, either singly or a few in a cluster, and 

 are succeeded by berries that when ripe are a dark red. 



