Spring Allergies and Ligustrums

Is ligustrum triggering your Spring Allergies?

Those beautiful what flowering plants are blooming in nearly every park, yard, and hedge-fence in the South.  Japanese and Chinese ligustrum privets are increasingly spreading every summer.  You can’t escape it.

In fact, they are so prevalent that many believe it is the primary cause of spring allergies.   Allergy suffers would love to see them eradicated.  So, why are they everywhere?

Ligustrum plants can handle a wide range of weather conditions and are among the easiest small trees and shrubs to grow. Because of their undemanding nature and adaptability, they are used largely in home landscapes. People plant them as hedges, foundation plants, patio trees or in shrub borders.

But as far as ligustrum triggering your allergies – there is little to no chance.

The simple fact that you can so easily smell and see the flowers is evidence that ligustrums does not produce allergens.

Most flowering trees and shrubs are pollinated by birds or insects. That is why these plants spawn fragrant and brightly colored flowers.  They need to lure insects to carry pollen from one plant to another. The pollen from these showy plants and flowers is heavy and sticks together.  In fact, it is too heavy to be airborne. It relies on the legs of an insect to carry it.

Most allergies are caused by plants that do not produce showy flowers.  Shrubs like cypress, jasmine vine, juniper and wisteria or trees such as alder, ash (male), aspen (male), beech, birch, box elder (male), cedar (male), cottonwood (male), elm, hickory, red and silver maples (male), mulberry (male), oak, olive, palm (male), pecan, pine, poplar (male), sycamore, walnut, willow (male) are the biggest culprits for producing airborne pollen that wreak havoc on our immune systems.

Wind-pollinated plants are what trigger allergies.  Their pollen grains are small, unusually abundant, and light enough to be carried for miles on a gentle spring breeze. A very unique chemical is released when the pollen comes into contact with something wet or moist, like another plant or your nose. These chemicals are specifically designed to let the plant know that his pollen “mate” has arrived. But when they lose their way and end up in your sinuses or eyes, those same chemicals induce sneezing, running noses and headaches.  

Being that Ligustrum goes overboard on the fragrant of its flowers to draw in the busy bees and insects there is no reason to suspect it is wind-pollinated.  In fact the pollen is very heavy so even if a strong breeze kicks up the pollen would drop like a rock to the ground.

You would need to set up your lawn chair directly under the plant and lift your chin just so for the pollen to drop straight into your nose.  Then maybe, you could blame your allergies on ligustrum.

So if you want to resolve your allergies, you'd best look for less -fragrant plants and try the new Allergena Tabs.  They contain 150 allergens to help boost your immune system and help relieve some allergy symptoms.