Fall is a great time to collect some of PEI’s aromatic wild leaves, perfect for spicing up food and drink during the cold winter months. Two of my favourites are Wintergreen (profiled last week) and today’s plant: Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum).
Labrador Tea is native to every province and territory in Canada and has a long history of traditional medicinal and culinary uses. On PEI, It’s common in bogs and damp mossy forests, and easily identified by thick leaves with inrolled edges and dense fuzz underneath (Photo).
If you’re new to collecting Labrador Tea, that fuzz is important: we have several more toxic plants that grow alongside Labrador Tea (including Sheep Laurel [Kalmia angusitfolia], Pale Laurel [Kalmia polifolia], and Bog Rosemary [Andromeda polifolia]). None have that distinctive fuzz, which is white on young leaves and becomes rust coloured as they mature.
This shrub is evergreen, with each individual leaf living several years like needles on a conifer. A major challenge for evergreen plants in our climate is water loss – anyone who’s experienced chapped lips or hands knows just how drying cold winter air can be. Plants can’t pull more water out of the soil in subzero temperatures and so holding on to the moisture they have is important. That’s where Labrador Tea’s fuzz comes in: it reduces water loss to evaporation and traps what little moisture there is in the air.
Labrador Tea has been used internally as a diuretic and for treatment of colds, sore throats, headaches, and diarrhoea, as well as externally to help heal burns and sores and repel pests and parasites. Modern research is showing antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and potentially antidiabetic effects.
As the name suggests, fresh or dried leaves make a pleasant tea, but they can also be used to flavour soups, stews, and meat rubs or marinades. This was one of the many products sold by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 18th century, and while I doubt you can find still Labrador Tea in this company’s modern-day stores, it is still readily available from countless online retailers.
Labrador Tea is high in vitamin C and though it doesn’t have caffeine, some people find the beverage stimulating in smaller doses yet sedative at higher concentrations. The traditional method for making the tea was to simmer fresh or dried leaves in water for several hours, creating a dark and strongly flavoured brew. As with many natural products, more is not always better and that’s definitely the case here. Long simmering is no longer recommended, and Labrador Tea should be consumed only in moderation.
We now know this plant contains two types of toxins: grayanotoxins (found in other members of this family including Rhododendron and Ghost Pipe) and ledol. Taken in excess, Labrador Tea can cause cramps, stomach upset, vomiting, delirium, and paralysis. The amount of ledol varies widely among individual plants and locations, but – when present – is released by boiling; the longer you boil the leaves, the more of the toxin will be in the tea. The modern-day recommendation is to steep (not boil) leaves for 10 minutes or less and limit consumption to one cup per day.
Labrador Tea can be collected at any time of year, but I like to do so in fall. This is a slow-growing plant and so careful harvest is especially important. It’s best to pick just a few leaves per plant, but Labrador Tea is almost always found in large numbers and so foraging a decent quantity sustainably is rarely a problem.
I use three to five fresh leaves (depending on size) or one teaspoon of crushed, dried leaves per cup of water. It makes a nice, aromatic drink that tastes like a combination of pine and black tea with undernotes of eucalyptus and warm spice. I’ll often add in dried Mint, Wintergreen, Rosehips, Elderberries, or orange peel – though not all at once! – to this unmistakable part of PEI untamed.
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