Field Notes · Wildcrafting · August 2026
By Richard & Aimee · 6 minLabrador tea on the bog and in the pot.
Leather leaves on wet ground. A careful take. A winter cup.
Quick guide to
LABRADOR TEA
★ in Alaska ★
Evergreen on the bog and the ridge. We dry it low for the winter pot.
| Fact | On this place |
|---|---|
| Latin | Rhododendron groenlandicum |
| Where it stands | Ridge and wet ground off the Little Susitna |
| How you know it | Leathery oblong leaves, rusty-felted undersides, incense smell |
| When we work it | Late August, before the frost, leaves still on the shrub |
| What we take | A few leaves from many plants. Leave young shrubs and woody stems |
| In the shop | Outdoor tins. Household. A winter cup |
| Who else uses it | The bog. A household cup |
Labrador tea keeps its leaves through the year. On our ridge and in the wet ground off the Little Susitna it grows as a low, leathery shrub, the underside of each leaf rusted and felted. Crush a leaf and the room, or the bog, fills with that resinous, almost incense smell. We gather it because it belongs in our products.
A careful take
We snip a few leaves from many plants, always above a node, and we leave the woody stems and the young shrubs alone. A patch that looks like a carpet can still be a thin year if you strip it. We walk, we fill a small bag, and we stop before the light fades.
The leaves dry low in the shed, out of the stove's direct heat. High heat makes them smell like a scorch. Low and slow keeps the incense. A pinch goes in our own winter pot. The same plant goes into our outdoor tins.
In the winter pot
A pinch in a pot on the stove rail is how we drink it at home. The leaf is strong. We do not boil it hard or leave it all afternoon. A short steep, a lid, a second look at the color. That is the household habit.