THURSDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- The unusually warm spring
weather in New York and other parts of the eastern United States
has trees and other plants blooming much earlier than normal, which
could mean a long and intense allergy season.
Donald Leopold, chair of the environmental and forest biology
department at State University of New York's College of
Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, said maples,
willows, aspens, poplars and other woody plant species that bloom
in early spring are major contributors of wind-dispersed pollen
that causes allergic reactions.
Leopold is an expert in woody and herbaceous native and
non-native plants.
On SUNY's campus recently, Leopold saw that an American elm was
already producing pollen, a red maple was covered with male and
female flowers, a row of spicebush shrubs had flowers of various
sizes, and a native willow had bloomed early.
This is the first time in his 27 years at the college that he
has seen these species bloom on campus before April 1, Leopold said
in a university news release.
In short, all the signs point to an extended and severe allergy
season.
With temperatures expected to reach the 80s in Syracuse, "things
are really going to pop this week," he said.
More information
The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia has more about
hay fever.