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B. Skin Irritants

Primula obconica Hairy Primula Rhus radicans Poison Ivy Rhus toxicodendron Poison Oak Rhus vernix Poison Sumac Stipa spartea (skin irritant for animals only) Porcupine Grass C. CAUSING HAY FEVER. East of the 100th meridian in the United States ninety per cent. of the cases of hay fever are caused by the common ragweed (Ambrosia elatior) while in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states the sage brush (Artemisia) replaces the ragweed as the most common hay fever weed. The so-called "rose fever" from which many people suffer each year is not caused by roses at all but by pollen from several different grasses. There are a number of commonly planted ornamental plants which possess hay-fever producing characteristics, as follows: I. The flowers must be wind pollinated. 2.

The flowers must be very numerous. 3. The flowers are generally unscented and not conspicuously coloured.

Some plants, like the goldenrods (Solidago), when used in large quantities in a room may prove irritant, but the pollen is not wind borne and thus it is not a true hay-fever plant. Dandelions have been known to cause irritation when children press the flowers too closely to their nostrils; but the dandelion is not a true hay-fever plant. The list of plants given below has been divided into two parts: (a) those plants which are active hay-fever producers, and (b) those which are mild. None of these plants should be used about hospitals, nor where hay-fever sufferers are likely to come in contact with them. a. Active:

Artemisia frigida Wormwood Sage Aster ericoides White Heath Aster Aster novae-angliae Hardy Garden Aster Carya ovata Hickory Centaurea cyanus Old-fashioned Cornflower Chrysanthemum leucanthemum Ox-eye Daisy Dianthus chinensis Chinese Pink Miscanthus compactus Plume Grass Eupatorium sessifolium Upland Grass Helianthus angustifolius Hardy Sun-flower Ipomoea purpurea