Rhododendron tomentosum |
Rhododendron canadense |
|
---|---|---|
Labrador tea, marsh Labrador tea, northern Labrador tea, trappers tea |
Canada rosebay, rhodora |
|
Habit | Shrubs, to 0.5 m, rhizomatous. | Shrubs, to 1 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. |
bark ± smooth to slightly shredding; twigs sparsely multicellular eglandular- and shorter stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs unbranched), also unicellular-hairy. |
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. |
deciduous; petiole multicellular eglandular- and stipitate-glandular-hairy and unicellular-hairy; blade elliptic to oblong or obovate, 1–8.3 × 0.4–3 cm, thin, membranous to chartaceous, margins entire, usually ± revolute, sometimes plane, eglandular- and unicellular-hairy, apex acute to rounded, abaxial surface eglandular- and stipitate-glandular-hairy, also unicellular-hairy, (± glaucous), adaxial surface scattered eglandular- and stipitate-glandular-hairy, also unicellular-hairy. |
Inflorescences | slightly rounded, 10–35-flowered; bracts lepidote abaxially, margins ciliate, long-crisped-hairy, sometimes also unicellular-hairy. |
sometimes fasciculate, 3–9-flowered; bracts similar to bud scales. |
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. |
3–10 mm, (usually glaucous), usually sparsely stipitate-glandular-hairy, and sometimes also densely unicellular-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. |
appearing before or, sometimes, with leaves, erect to horizontal, fragrant; calyx lobes 0.4–1.5 mm, often scattered stipitate-glandular-hairy, sometimes also unicellular-hairy, margins glandular- and/or eglandular-ciliate; corolla rose-purple to pink, rarely white, unspotted or red-spotted on upper 3 lobes, irregularly shaped, clearly 2-lipped due to very extensive connation of 3 upper lobes contrasting with 2 elongate, widely divergent lower lobes, 12–22 mm, glabrous or, sometimes, sparsely stipitate-glandular-hairy on outer surface, petals connate, upper lobe 3–8 mm, lateral lobes 12–22 mm (closely connate with upper lobe), lower lobes 12–22 mm, tube absent due to deep division between 2 lower lobes and between lateral and lower lobes; stamens 10, exserted, ± unequal, 9–20 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. |
borne on erect pedicels, 0.7–1.7 × 0.3–0.6 mm, multicellular stipitate-glandular- and eglandular-hairy and densely unicellular-hairy. |
Seeds | somewhat elongated beyond narrow ends; testa closely appressed. |
with flattened tails; testa tightly appressed. |
Floral | bud scales with lepidote scales and unicellular-hairy abaxially, margins unicellular-hairy. |
bud scales unicellular-hairy abaxially, and often stipitate-glandular- and eglandular-hairy, margins unicellular-hairy. |
2n | = 26, 52. |
= 52. |
Rhododendron tomentosum |
Rhododendron canadense |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Bogs, muskeg, tundra, raised beach ridges | Moist to dry, coniferous or mixed conifer-deciduous forests, thickets, open rocky areas, lake margins, bogs, swamps |
Elevation | 0-1800 m (0-5900 ft) | 0-1900 m (0-6200 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AB; BC; MB; NF; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia
|
CT; MA; ME; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; VT; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC
|
Discussion | Rhododendron canadense is distinctive and is most closely related to R. vaseyi; together they constitute sect. Rhodora (Linnaeus) G. Don (W. S. Judd and K. A. Kron 1995). Rhododendron canadense is sometimes cultivated for its showy flowers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 459. | FNA vol. 8, p. 464. |
Parent taxa | Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Rhododendron | 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 | Rhodora canadensis |
Name authority | Harmaja: Ann. Bot. Fenn. 27: 204. (1990) | (Linnaeus) Torrey: in New York State, Rep. Geol. Surv., 151. 1841 , |
Web links |