Rhododendron tomentosum

Labrador tea (Rhododendron tomentosum )

The Labrador tea (Rhododendron tomentosum, syn. Ledum palustre L., Rhododendron palustre ) is a plant which belongs to the family of the heather family ( Ericaceae ).

Description

The Labrador tea is an evergreen shrub that reaches the plant height of 0.5 to 1.5 meters. The marsh Labrador tea reached a maximum age of 30 years. The overhanging branches are hairy and rusty brown tomentose. The marsh tea gives off a peculiar resinous camphor -like odor due to its essential oils. Also, the wood is fragrant. The leaves smell strongly aromatic and have an intense flavor, faintly reminiscent of rosemary and turpentine on. The tough, leathery leaves are lance-shaped, curled up on the edge and rust-colored close to the bottom or hairy reddish brown tomentose.

The flowering period extends from May to July. In a terminal, doldigen inflorescence sit the flowers. The hermaphrodite flowers are fünfzählig. The five white -pink petals are 5-25 mm long, fused only at their base. There are ten stamens present.

The hanging, inconspicuous, egg-shaped fruit capsules are 3.5 to 4 mm in size, open end of the upper starting and released numerous elongated seeds. The fruits are ripe from July to August.

Ecology

There is a mycorrhiza from the Ericaceae type. The overwintering leaves are used as backup storage for the sprouting the following spring. If they are removed, the plant dies.

Biologically flowers are vorweibliche, aromatic- numbing scented " Nektar leading disk flowers from Veronica - type". The pollen tetrads forms. Pollination is by Fly. Spontaneous self-pollination is done by Einkrümmen the stamens.

The capsule fruits, air trapped light seeds; these are spread by the wind as granules flyer; their germination takes place until next year. When the fruits of the swamp Porstes is winter stayer.

Folk names

For the marsh tea or rosemary, there are numerous popular names such as: Altseim, Baganz, Bagen, Bagulnik, bees Heath, Borse, Brauer herb, fleabane, flea cancer, gout, fir, frontier, Gruitkraut, Gruiz, reason Gruut, hard Heather, Heather Bee herb, No - Porst, Kiefer Porst, Kühn Porst, Kühn rust, Morose, moth herb feverfew, Pors, Porsch, rosemary, rosemary herb, mail, postal herb Purst, noise, rosemary herb, Ross herb Sautanne, pork farce, fir Porst, Forest rosemary, Black Cohosh, White Heath, Wild rosemary, time heath, Bee heath or time healing. The authors of old herbs and medicinal books frequently used the names: Herba Rosmarini sylvestris, Led. pal. Ledo and rosemary sylvestre. In Scandinavia, the names were: Getpors, Getpores, Ledumpors, Lunner Sqvattram and Suatram common.

Due to many of the rosemary and myrtle of shared names that were in the historical literature often a lack of clarity and confusion.

Occurrence, threats and conservation

Today you can find the Sumpfporst proven especially even in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, North America and North Asia. The marsh tea, for example, a typical local flowering plant in the Bohemian- Saxon Switzerland and the Czech Republic belongs to the protected species.

The Labrador tea grows preferentially in bogs, on wet peat soils and lime-free. Through the influence of the people with the draining of marshes and wet meadows, peat, etc., which in many places began early in the history of settlement, the Labrador tea is now in Germany, especially in the south and west, nearly extinct ( Vollrath 1964: " the Sumpfporst is probably only around 1935 ... lost. "). Low inventories have been preserved in northern and eastern Germany. In the 1990s, there were also large-scale plantations.

The Labrador tea is on the red list of endangered plant species in many countries. On the red list of Lower Saxony Ledum palustre L. as he stands in the risk category 2, but he is only given for the lowland and thus missing both on the coast and in the Lower Saxon hill and mountain country. The clan is thus endangered and rare to very rare in Lower Saxony, there is a strong population decline to recognize.

System

The original genus Ledum name is derived from the ancient Greek name of this species " ledon ".

There are two Eurasian subspecies: European marsh tea (Rhododendron palustre L. subsp palustre. ) And Siberian Labrador tea (Rhododendron palustre subsp sibiricus. ). In the North American Arctic subspecies Engblättriger marsh tea (common name "Labrador tea" Rhododendron palustre subsp. Decumbens Aiton, engl. ) Grows. Ledum palustre var dilatatum Wahlberg grows in the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, northern Korea, Russia, the Northeastern Asia and Northern Europe.

Toxicity

The leaves, but also other parts of the plant are mildly toxic. The leaves of the Porsts contain up to 2.5% toxic essential oils, whose main components are the ledol and Palustrol (both sesquiterpenes ). In addition, the plant parts contain other oils such as myrcene, Ericolin, quercetin. In addition, various tannins, bitter substances, flavone glycosides, arbutin and traces of alkaloids are included. Possible symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, stomach and intestinal inflammation with diarrhea, damage to the kidneys and urinary tract, drowsiness, sweating, muscle aches and abortions. It caused noise-like states, which sometimes turn aggressive. Deaths were observed. Already the extended-stay Porst stocks can lead to dizziness and noise-like states.

Healing effects

Labrador tea was formerly used in medicine to dental problems and, because of its intoxicating effect, as Incense and magical plant. Currently, marsh tea has been used in medicine and homeopathy importance and insect bites (including tick bite), rheumatism, arthritis and gout, as well as against whooping cough, rashes and some skin diseases such as scabies. In North America (Rhododendron palustre subsp. Decumbens ) was from the engblättrigen Sumpfporst by Inuit and Athabaskan a tea prepared (Labrador Tea ), who also gave the plant itself its popular name. This tea has been attributed to multiple medical effect.

Use

Labrador tea leaves were used for brewing beer. The active ingredients in Sumpfporst gave the beer a heady, the effect of alcohol enhancing or preserving property. One of the earliest evidence of the use of rosemary as brewing additive was found in a Bronze Age burial dating from the 15th century BC from Egtved, Denmark. Until the early modern period was marsh tea, sometimes mixed with the aromatic Gagel, used for brewing the so-called Grutbiere.

They used it against moths, lice and scabies by rubbing, and it also came to light poisoning.