Rhododendron tomentosum |
|
---|---|
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 |
AK; AB; BC; MB; NF; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia
|
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 459. |
Parent taxa | Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Rhododendron |
Sibling taxa | |
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) |
Web links |