VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ledum groenlandicum | Bog Labrador Tea 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Bog Labrador tea leaves and twigs are browsed by caribou and moose.  In
Ontario, caribou browse bog Labrador tea as supplemental winter browse
[11].  In a study in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest
Territories, leaves and twigs of bog Labrador tea occrrred in 100
percent of caribou rumen samples [36].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Bog Labrador tea is rated low in digestibility for black-tailed deer [35].


COVER VALUE : 
Bog labrador tea presumably provides cover for a variety of small
wildlife species.  


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Bog labrador tea has potential for revegetating disturbed sites.  It
naturally recolonized local sites after powerline construction in the
subartic bogs of northern and central Manitoba [38].  Bog labrador tea
has also recolonized mined peatlands in the northeastern United States
and may be of use in managing mined reclamation projects [15].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The strongly aromatic leaves of bog Labrador tea can be used to make a
palatable tea.  As a folk medicine the tea was used externally for all
kinds of skin problems.  Taken internally, the tea was used to stimulate
the nerves and stomach.  A syrup made from the tea was sometimes used
for coughs and hoarseness [26,32].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
On Willow Island, Alaska, white spruce stands were subjected to clearcut
and shelterwood treatments.  Second-year average percent cover and
average percent frequency of bog Labrador tea were as follows [13]:

                                    shelterwood         shelterwood
            control   clearcut      14 m spacing        9 m spacing
          --------------------------------------------------------------- 
cover        0.2       trace         0.1                   0.1
frequency    3.0       3             3.0                   3.0

                 

Related categories for Species: Ledum groenlandicum | Bog Labrador Tea