Ledum

Plant Characteristics
Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names
Ericaceae >	Rhododendron subsect. Ledum >

Read about Ledum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Ledum (ledon, ancient Greek name of Cistus). Ericaceae. Labrador Tea. Ornamental shrubs grown for their handsome white flowers and evergreen foliage. Leaves alternate, short-petioled, entire: flowers rather small, 1/3 - 1/2 in. across, long-pedicelled, in terminal, umbel-like racemes; calyx-lobes and petals 5, spreading; stamens 5-10: caps, nodding, 5-celled, separating from the base into 5 valves, with many minute seeds. Four species in the arctic and cold regions of the northern hemisphere, all found in N. Amer. One of the few ericaceous genera with polypetalous flowers. The leaves. contain a volatile oil, with narcotic properties; the leaves. of L. groenlandicum are said to have been used during the War of Independence as a substitute for tea, hence the name "Labrador tea." These plants are low, sometimes procumbent, shrubs with evergreen narrow leaves fragrant when bruised, and with handsome white flowers appearing in early summer. They are all hardy North, and well adapted for borders of evergreen shrubberies or for planting in swampy situations. They thrive as well in sunny as in partly shaded situations, and prefer a moist, sandy and peaty soil. Transplanting is easy, if the plants are moved with a sufficient ball of earth. Propagation is by seeds sown in spring in sandy peat and treated like those of azalea and rhododendron, the young plants growing but slowly; increased also by layers and division. ^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Ledum is a genus name formerly widely recognised in the family Ericaceae, including 8 species of evergreen shrubs native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and commonly known as Labrador Tea^wp.

Recent genetic evidence has shown that the species previously treated in this genus are correctly placed in the genus Rhododendron, where they are now treated as Rhododendron subsect. Ledum^wp.

Species^wp

The species formerly listed in Ledum, with their current accepted names in Rhododendron, are:

Ledum decumbens = Rhododendron subarcticum Harmaja
Ledum glandulosum = Rhododendron neoglandulosum Harmaja
Ledum groenlandicum = Rhododendron groenlandicum (Oeder) Kron & Judd
Ledum hypoleucum = Rhododendron hypoleucum (Kom.) Harmaja
Ledum macrophyllum = Rhododendron tolmachevii Harmaja
Ledum palustre = Rhododendron tomentosum Harmaja
Ledum palustre var. diversipilosum = Rhododendron diversipilosum (Nakai) Harmaja
Ledum subulatum = Rhododendron subulatum (Nakai) Harmaja

Hybrids

One natural hybrid also occurs:

Ledum columbianum = Rhododendron × columbianum (R. groenlandicum × R. neoglandulosum)

Read about Ledum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Ledum buxifolium , Berg (syn. Leiophyllum buxifolium). — L. columbianum. Piper. To 3 ft.: Leaves. glabrous and glandular below, revolute: stamens 5-7: caps, oblong, acutiah. Wash.,Ore. — -L. glandulosam. Nutt. Shrub, to 6 ft.: leaves.oblong or oval, glabrous, glaucous and glandular beneath, not revolute: stamens 10: caps, oval, obtuse. July, Aug. Brit. Col. to Calif. — L. Lyonii, listed abroad, is undeterminable. It is described as "a lovely shrub for rock-garden, very pretty in bud." ^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

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References

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

w:Ledum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
Ledum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)

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