Labrador tea is a name commonly applied to three closely related species:
In Labrador itself, Labrador Tea is also frequently called Indian Tea.
All three are primarily wetland plants in the Heath family (Ericaceae) with strongly aromatic leaves that can be used to make a very palatable herbal tea. Labrador tea has been a favorite beverage among Athabaskan and Inuit people for many years.
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All three species of Labrador tea are low, slow-growing shrubs with evergreen leaves. The leaves are smooth on top with often wrinkled edges, and fuzzy white to red-brown underneath. The tiny white flowers grow in hemispherical clusters and are very fragrant and sticky and highly attractive to bees.
The Athabaskans brew the leaves as a beverage and some people chew the raw leaves because they enjoy the flavor. Others use Labrador tea to spice meat by boiling the leaves and branches in water and then soaking the meat in the tea.
The Pomo, Kashaya, Tolowa and Yurok of Northern California boiled the leaves of Western Labrador Tea similarly, to make a medicinal tea.[1] In Greenland, this is still the case. Here it is also used in facial steam bath.
In medieval Northern Europe, R. groenlandicum and R. tomentosum were often brewed in "gruit" ales, prior to the adoption of hops.
Labrador tea contains ledol, a poisonous substance that can cause cramps and paralysis.[2]
Rhododendron tomentosum grows in peaty soils, shrubby areas, moss and lichen tundra.
Rhododendron groenlandicum grows in bogs and wet shores, and sometimes on rocky alpine slopes. Both species are generally northern (north temperate to tundra) in distribution, with the range of R. groenlandicum somewhat farther south.
Rhododendron neoglandulosum grows in wetlands and bogs in western North America, from British Columbia to California to Colorado.
Rhododendron tomentosum, Rhododendron groenlandicum, and Rhododendron neoglandulosum grow slowly, so pick individual leaves rather than whole branches, and harvest from different shrubs. In addition, Labrador tea grows in abundance in large patches so it should not be difficult to move from plant to plant to avoid over-harvesting. Labrador tea is an evergreen plant and will be available all year long.