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Labrador tea, marsh Labrador tea, northern Labrador tea, trappers tea

Habit Shrubs, to 0.5 m, rhizomatous.
Stems

creeping or prostrate;

bark ± smooth;

twigs unicellular-hairy and with flattened, glandular scales, scales often obscured by dense, ferruginous, long-crisped, multicellular hairs.

Leaves

persistent, (fragrant when crushed);

petiole with unicellular and/or peltate scales and, sometimes, ferruginous, long-crisped hairs;

blade ± linear, 2–5 × 1–4 cm (often much longer than wide), coriaceous, margins entire, revolute, glabrous, apex acute, abaxial surface with sparse to dense, glandular-peltate scales without broad rim, scales often obscured by dense (to sparse), ferruginous, long-crisped, multicellular hairs sometimes forming dense, ± uniform mat, adaxial surface rugose with scattered, lepidote scales and sometimes also with white, unicellular hairs along impressed midrib, midrib usually lanate.

Inflorescences

slightly rounded, 10–35-flowered;

bracts lepidote abaxially, margins ciliate, long-crisped-hairy, sometimes also unicellular-hairy.

Pedicels

5–26 mm, sparsely eglandular-hairy (hairs ferruginous, elongated), with 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, not fragrant;

calyx lobes ca. 1 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 often densely unicellular-hairy, petals appearing distinct or only slightly connate basally, lobes 5–7 mm;

stamens 10, exserted, ± equal, 4.4–8.5 mm.

Capsules

borne on apex of sharply recurved pedicels, 2.5–5 × 1–3 mm (only slightly longer than wide), with sparse to dense, lepidote scales, acropetally dehiscent.

Seeds

somewhat elongated beyond narrow ends;

testa closely appressed.

Floral

bud scales with lepidote scales and unicellular-hairy abaxially, margins unicellular-hairy.

2n

= 26, 52.

Rhododendron tomentosum

Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Bogs, muskeg, tundra, raised beach ridges
Elevation 0-1800 m (0-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AB; BC; MB; NF; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia
[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. columbianum, 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. vaseyi, R. viscosum
Synonyms Ledum palustre, Ledum decumbens, Ledum palustre subsp. decumbens, R. subarcticum, R. tolmachevii, R. tomentosum subsp. decumbens, R. tomentosum var. subarcticum
Name authority Harmaja: Ann. Bot. Fenn. 27: 204. (1990)
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