_Ceanothus americanus_
_Flowers_--Small, white, on white pedicels, crowded in dense, oblong,
terminal clusters. Calyx white, hemispheric, 5-lobed; 5 petals, hooded
and long-clawed; 5 stamens with long filaments; style short, 3-cleft.
_Stems:_ Shrubby, 1 to 3 ft. high, usually several, from a deep reddish
root. _Leaves:_ Alternate, ovate-oblong, acute at tip, finely saw-edged,
3-nerved, on short petioles.
_Preferred Habitat_--Dry, open woods and thickets.
_Flowering Season_--May-July.
_Distribution_--Ontario south and west to the Gulf of Mexico.
Light, feathery clusters of white little flowers crowded on the twigs
of this low shrub interested thrifty colonial housewives of
Revolutionary days not at all; the tender, young, rusty, downy leaves
were what they sought to dry as a substitute for imported tea. Doubtless
the thought that they were thereby evading George the Third’s tax and
brewing patriotism in every kettleful added a sweetness to the home-made
beverage that sugar itself could not impart. The American troops were
glad enough to use New Jersey Tea throughout the war. A nankeen or
cinnamon-colored dye is made from the reddish root.