Uses
The Athabaskans brew the leaves as a beverage and some people chew the raw leaves because they enjoy the flavor. Others use Labrador tea to spice meat by boiling the leaves and branches in water and then soaking the meat in the decoction.
The Pomo, Kashaya, Tolowa and Yurok of Northern California boiled the leaves of Western Labrador Tea similarly, to make a medicinal tisane. In Greenland, this is still the case. Here it is also used in facial steam bath.
In medieval Northern Europe, R. groenlandicum and R. tomentosum were often brewed in "gruit" ales, prior to the adoption of hops.
Labrador tea contains ledol, a poisonous substance that can cause cramps and paralysis.
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