Cypress
Latin name:
Cupressaceae, embracing the genera
Cupressus (cypress),
Juniperus (juniper, cedar),
Chamaecyparis (Port Orford cedar, nootka cypress) and
Thuja(arbor-vitae)
Description:
Coniferous trees with squamous leaves or (seldom) needles. Many of them are used as ornamental trees and hedges. Indigenous in the Mediterranean, but a few, for instance junipers, also in the rest of Europe. As an allergen, they become important mainly in the Mediteranean.
Note: Coniferous trees have not been considered to be allergenic for a long period. In the course of the past ten years, Japanese investigations have proved the high allergenicity of Japanese cedar (
Cryptomeria japonica) in interdependence with air pollution. Since then, reports about sensitizations against various coniferous trees have increasingly been published.
Allergenicity:
The cypress family is known for moderate to high allergenicity, depending on exposition.
Start of the season:
Cypress stretches from December to June, occasionally also into late autumn.
Crossreactions:
There are crossreactions reported with Japanese cedar, (
Cryptomeria japonica), which belongs to a differing family of conifers (Taxodiaceae), and recently suspected with true cedars (
Cedrus libani, C. atlantica), which belong to the Pinaceae family.
