Please find information below about some common plant allergens (not tree pollen) in this area:
Dandelion
Common dandelion is a simple perennial (no branching) with a basal rosette that has deeply lobed leaves that generally point back towards the center of the rosette. Probably the most common weed in maintained turf. Dandelion can tolerate a wide variety of site conditions and soils. A well tap-rooted perennial, dandelion forms a simple rosette ofleaves and produces bright yellow flowers on leafless stalks. Dandelion produces a puffball seedhead globe very rapidly after mowing. The seeds are easily dispersed by wind and tracking on equipment. The bright-yellow flowers are easily identifiable in April.
Sheep’s Sorrel
Rumex acetosella is a species of sorrel, also known as Acetosella vulgaris Fourr, bearing the common names sheep’s sorrel, red sorrel, sour weed, and field sorrel. The plant and its subspecies are common perennial weeds. It has green arrowhead-shaped leaves and red-tinted deeply ridged stems, and it sprouts from an aggressive rhizome. The flowers emerge from a tall, upright stem. Female flowers are maroon in color. R. acetosella is a perennial herb that has an upright stem that is slender and reddish in color, and branched at top, reaching a height of 18 inches. The arrow-shaped leaves are simple, slightly more than 1 inc in length, and smooth with a pair of horizontal lobes at base. Flowers from March to November, when yellowish-green flowers (male) or reddish (female) flowers develop on separate plants, at the apex of the stem. Fruits are red achenes. Sheep’s sorrel is widely considered to be a noxious weed, and one that is hard to control due to its spreading rhizome.
Goldenrod
The many goldenrod species can be difficult to distinguish, due to their similar bright, golden yellow flower heads that bloom in late summer. Goldenrod is often unfairly blamed for causing hay fever in humans. The pollen causing these allergy problems is mainly produced by ragweed (Ambrosia sp.), blooming at the same time as the goldenrod, but is wind-pollinated. Goldenrod pollen is too heavy and sticky to be blown far from the flowers, and is thus mainly pollinated by insects. Frequent handling of goldenrod and other flowers, however, can cause allergic reactions, leading some florists to change occupation.
Nettles
Nettles can be easily gathered in the lower reaches of avalanche slopes and on sunny hillsides that warm in early spring. They prefer damp soil, often in somewhat shaded locales. The nettle is an easy plant to identify. The leaves grow on opposite sides of the stem, they have toothed margins and come to a point. That sting is a pretty good identifying characteristic as well. Nettles are one of the first green perennials to emerge.
Lamb’s Quarter
This annual plant is either introduced or native and somewhat variable in appearance. Depending on the fertility of the soil, it is 1-6′ tall, branching occasionally. Large mature specimens have a bushy appearance, tapering gradually toward the apex. The stems are stout, angular, and variably colored, ranging from light blue-green to striped with purple and green. Young stems are covered with a fine mealy pubescence, while older stems become more glabrous. The alternate leaves are up to 5″ long and 3″ across. The older lower leaves are broadly ovate with irregular margins. These margins are undulate, slightly lobed, and/or dentate, and they are sometimes reddish purple along the edge. The dentate teeth are large, widely spaced, and blunt. The upper surface of the lower leaves is usually green or bluish green and glabrous, while the lower surface may be glabrous to more or less white mealy with tiny white hairs. The petioles are slender and long, often at least half the length of the leaves. The inconspicuous yellowish green flowers are sessile against the flowering stalks and densely distributed.
Pigweed
Redroot pigweed is an annual plant that grows 20 to 150 cm tall from a taproot. Taproots can penetrate up to I m deep. Plants are densely to moderately hairy. Stems are round to angled, erect, single or branched, and reddish near the base. Leaves are gray-green, petiolated, ovate to rhombic-ovate, pointed at the tips, 2 to 15 cm long, and 1 to 7 cm wide with entire margins and hairs on the veins on the lower surfaces. Petioles are 1.5 to 6 cm long. Flowers are small and are arranged in short-branched, axillary and terminal inflorescences. Bracts are needle-shaped or spiny. Inflorescences are green to silver-green and erect or reflexed at the tip. Seeds are black to red-brown, lenticular, smooth, shiny, and 1 to 1.3 nun long
Plantain
Flat, elliptical, dark green leaves radiating from a single base, strongly ribbed lengthwise; long, slender spikes of green-white flowers grow in thick clusters at the end of thick stems. Plaintain is wind-pollinated and propagates primarily by seeds, which are held on the long, narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage. Each plant can produce up to 20,000 seeds, which are very small and oval-shaped.
The plant is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia, but has widely naturalised elsewhere in the world.
Mugwort Sage
Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 and 400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush. Artemisia comprises hardy herbaceous plants and shrubs, which are known for the powerful chemical constituents in their essential oils. Artemisia species grow in temperate climates of both hemispheres, usually in dry or semiarid habitats. Notable species include A. vulgaris (common mugwort), A. tridentata (big sagebrush), A. annua (sagewort), A. absinthum (wormwood), A. dracunculus (tarragon), and A. abrotanum (southernwood). The leaves of many species are covered with white hairs. The small flowers are wind-pollinated.
For additional information on allergens or to schedule a consultation with our providers, please contact us.