Labrador tea

Labrador tea is an upright subshrub up to 1.50 m tall and wide.

Stem

The stems are upright or lying down, with smooth bark. The young twigs are covered with a thick, rust-coloured down.

Leaves

The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, elliptical and elongated, and the edge of the blade is rolled under. The upper side of the leaf is green and shiny, while the underside is covered with a thick white down that later turns rust-coloured.

Flowers

The flowers are white and grouped in clusters.

Roots

Underground, it spreads by creeping stems (rhizomes); it also spreads by its seeds.

Do not confuse with

Narrow-leaved kalmia, or sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), grows side by side with Labrador tea and looks a lot like it. It is toxic. To tell them apart, turn the leaf over: the underside of a Labrador tea leaf is covered with a thick down, white and then rust-coloured; that of kalmia is smooth and bare. In spring, kalmia flowers are pink, those of Labrador tea white.