WILLOW TREE POLLEN ALLERGY
Key Allergens
Willow trees are in the Salicaceae family of plants. Other plants in this family include poplar and aspen trees.
The sap in willow trees is high in salicylic acid, which can cause contact allergic dermatitis.
Willow trees are insect rather than wind pollinated, so even though the pollen is highly allergenic you would have to be close to the trees for it to have an effect.
The pollen season for Willow is February to April peaking in March.
Associated Syndromes
An allergy to willow tree pollen is strongly associated with seasonal allergic rhinitis (hayfever).
A willow tree pollen allergy is also linked to asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic dermatitis.
Cross Reactivity
Other plants in the
Salicaceae family of plants include poplar and aspen trees. If you are allergic to the pollen of these plants, you may also want to avoid willow trees.
Resources
Websites
Worcester Pollen Forecast
Allergy UK - Managing your asthma and your allergic rhinitis throughout the seasons
Science Direct - Willow
Allergen Encyclopedia - Willow
Pollen Library - Willow
AAFA - Pollen Allergy in the US
Articles and Journals
Allergic contact dermatitis to salicylic acid: A case series of relevant sensitization, 2024
A paediatric case of exercise-augmented anaphylaxis following bee pollen ingestion in Western Australia, 2022
Within city spatiotemporal variation of pollen concentration in the city of Toronto, Canada, 2022
Respiratory allergies: Salicaceae sensitization (Review), 2021
On pollen and airborne virus transmission, 2021
Ambient daily pollen levels in association with asthma exacerbation among children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2020
The Most Common Allergenic Tree Pollen Grains in the Middle East: A Narrative Review, 2019
Clinical Manifestations and Risk Factors of Anaphylaxis in Pollen–Food Allergy Syndrome, 2019
Oral Allergy Syndrome in Birch Pollen-Sensitized Patients from a Korean University Hospital, 2018
Early Pollen Sensitization in Children Is Dependent upon Regional Aeroallergen Exposure, 2012
Correlation between eosinophilic oesophagitis and aeroallergens, 2010
Allergic contact dermatitis from salicyl alcohol and salicylaldehyde in aspen bark (Populus tremula), 2005
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