Labrador tea

Labrador tea, Ledum sp. Alaska, over cinnabar deposit Stem 1.0-3.5 DW 1... 

Some defenses are so effective that herbivores do not consume any amount of a plant. Snowshoe hares are deterred from feeding on Labrador tea. Ledum groenlandicum, by germacrone, a sesquiterpene, the major compound of its essential oil. Leaves and fresh growth internodes contain large amounts of germacrone (Reichardt etal, 1990a). Yet beaver, C. canadensis, in Saskatchewan,... 

Canada, have been observed to feed on Labrador tea and store it in their food caches (Gunson, 1970). Storing in water may make Labrador tea more palatable. 

Reichardt, P. B., Bryant, J. P., Anderson, B. J., etal. (1990a). Germacrone defends Labrador tea from browsing by snowshoe hares. Journal of Chemical Ecology 16,1961-1970. 

The essential oil of Ledum palustre (marsh Labrador tea), which contains flavones, monoterpenoids, and sesquiter-penoids, is a potent irritant of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and urinary tract other toxic effects include abortion. 

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry) Gaultheiia procumbens (wintergreen) Ledum palustre (marsh Labrador tea) Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) Breynia officinalis (Chi R Yun) Croton tiglium (croton)... 

Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) Ledum palustre (marsh Labrador tea)... 

An investigation of the uranium content in the plant material covering the surface of a lake area in Labrador, Canada, was reported (Nyade et al. 2013). Several vegetation samples (black spruce, Labrador tea stem and humus) were collected, ashed at 450°C, and analyzed by ICPMS. Uranium content in humus samples varied between 0.05 and 885 pg U g" and some soil samples that were also analyzed showed concentrations of 50-405 pg U g". The spruce twigs had a better correlation with radio-metric measurements than the humus and soil samples. 

Ledol and palustrol are two aromadendrane derivatives in the essential oil from Labrador tea Ledum palustre). This oil causes vomiting, gastroenteritis, and excitation in man but is also toxic for animals [9]. Recently, fraganol and fraganyl acetate, rare mmioterpenes, were described as toxic essential oil components in Achillea umbellata [75]. 

This term may refer to (1) any of a group of low evergreen shrubs growing in bogs and swamps of the arctic and subarctic regions, or (2) tea made from the leaves of these plants. Labrador tea was popular with miners, mountainmen, and American colonists during the Revolution. 

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