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Mt. Labrador tea, smooth Labrador tea, trapper's-tea, western Labrador tea

Habit Shrubs or trees, to 2 m, rhizomatous.
Stems

bark smooth, sometimes peeling or shredding with age;

twigs unicellular-hairy, papillate, with flattened, glandular scales (lepidote).

Leaves

persistent, (fragrant when crushed);

petiole with glandular-peltate scales without broad rim and few, ferruginous, long-crisped hairs;

blade (white or pale green abaxially), ovate to lanceolate, (1–)2–8 × 1.5–3 cm, coriaceous, margins entire, plane, glabrous, apex usually acute, abaxial surface sparsely to densely papillate, with few, ferruginous, long-crisped hairs and glandular-peltate scales without broad rim, adaxial surface with scattered lepidote scales and/or papillae, sometimes also unicellular-hairy along midrib.

Inflorescences

slightly rounded, 10–35-flowered;

bracts lepidote abaxially, margins ciliate, unicellular-hairy.

Pedicels

4–25 mm, with dense to sparse, ferruginous, long-crisped, unicellular and/or peltate scales, sometimes also long-stalked, multicellular glandular-hairy.

Flowers

radially symmetric, opening after leaves (of flowering shoots), ± erect, fragrance not noticeable at mid day;

calyx lobes (often reflexed in fruit), ± 1–1.5 mm, outer surface densely to sparsely unicellular-hairy (hairs tan) and multicellular stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs red) on margins;

corolla white to cream, without blotch, ± rotate, 2–8 mm, inner surface hairy proximally, outer surface glabrous, petals appearing distinct or only slightly connate basally, lobes (4–)5–7 mm;

stamens (8–)10(–12), exserted, ± equal, 4.5–8.4 mm.

Capsules

borne on recurved pedicels, 2.5–5 × 2–6 mm (only slightly longer than wide), glabrous, acropetally dehiscent.

Seeds

somewhat elongated beyond narrow ends;

testa closely appressed.

Floral

bud scales with peltate scales without broad rim and unicellular-hairy abaxially, margins unicellular-hairy.

2n

= 26.

Rhododendron columbianum

Phenology Flowering spring-mid summer.
Habitat Bogs, swamps, stream margins, sometimes on well-drained sites
Elevation 0-3500 m (0-11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 459.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Rhododendron
Sibling taxa
R. alabamense, R. albiflorum, R. arborescens, R. atlanticum, R. austrinum, R. calendulaceum, R. canadense, R. canescens, R. catawbiense, R. cumberlandense, R. eastmanii, R. flammeum, R. groenlandicum, R. lapponicum, R. macrophyllum, R. maximum, R. minus, R. occidentale, R. periclymenoides, R. prinophyllum, R. prunifolium, R. tomentosum, R. vaseyi, R. viscosum
Synonyms Ledum columbianum, Ledum glandulosum, R. neoglandulosum
Name authority (Piper) Harmaja: Ann. Bot. Fenn. 27: 203. (1990)
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