This unusual trait, together with the spicy, citrusy fragrance the leaves and twigs release when crushed, makes it easy to identify. Bog Labrador tea usually grows in thick banks, dominating its habitat, and is difficult to overlook. Ledum species are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The humble Ledums have attracted more than their share of controversy among horticulturalists. In fact, as recently as 1995 squabbling among rhododendron enthusiasts prompted the Royal Horticultural Society to issue a formal statement reasserting its position that Ledum is a separate genus.
Authorities also disagree on the origins of Labrador tea as a beverage.
Some support the natural assumption that Native Americans invented this practice. Many Native herbalists refute this, however, claiming that trappers not only taught their forebears to infuse the leaves, but introduced L. groenlandicum itself to the West, Johnny Appleseed-style. If so, this is a novel episode in history, wherein immigrants taught natives to use a plant found wild in the new land. Whatever the truth may be, both Natives and mountain men were mixing Labrador tea leaves with other ingredients to brew tea when settlement of the West began. A more serious consideration is the confusion over the pharmacological effects of Labrador tea.