LABRADOR-TEA 



Ledum groenlandicum Oeder 



Who that has traveled by the Canadian Pacific Railway in June, 

 along the north shore of Lake Superior and across the boggy country 

 traversed by that railroad, has not noticed the masses of low bushes 

 covered with feathery heads of white flowers ? When the mountains 

 are reached we still find the shrub growing luxuriantly in full sun- 

 shine or adapting itself to more shaded situations, provided the ground 

 is sufficiently wet. The margins of the leaves are rolled, and their 

 under surface is covered with brown wool. 



The leaves have an aromatic fragrance, and were used by the early 

 settlers as a substitute for tea, but the beverage is rather too much like 

 turpentine to be palatable. 



Labrador-tea is one of the members of the Heath Family and is 

 at home in northern regions. During the glacial period it probably 

 survived near the margins of the ice sheets, and when these melted 

 back, followed them closely and became widespread in the glaciated 

 territory, wherever acid soils developed. It now grows from the high- 

 lands of New Jersey northward and westward far into the Rocky 

 Mountains and the Arctic regions. It was in fact given the specific 

 name groenlandicum because it was first discovered in Greenland. 



The specimen sketched came from the White Mountains in New 

 Hampshire. 



PLATE 62. 



