Ledum.

Ledum. a genus of plants of the order Ericaceæ, sub-order Rhodoreæ, consisting of small evergreen shrubs, with comparatively large flowers, of which the corolla is cut into five deep petal-like segments. The species are natives of Europe and North America; some of them are common to both. The leaves of L. latifolium are said to be used in Labrador as a substitute for tea, whence it is sometimes called Labrador Tea. Sir John Franklin and his party, in the arctic expedition of 1819-22, used in the same way the Ledum palustre, which produced a beverage with a smell resembling rhubarb, yet they found it refreshing. The leaves of both these shrubs possess narcotic properties, and render beer heady. They are regarded as useful in agues, dysentery, and diarrhoea.