Compositae gardeners

Wollenweber, E. and Valant-Vetschera, K.M., New results with exudate flavonoids in Compositae, in Compositae Systematics, vol. 1. Proceedings of the International Compositae Conference, Kew, 1994, D.J.N. Flind and FI.J. Beentje, Eds., Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1996. 

Some people, especially florists and gardeners affected by the Compositae plants suffer from contact dermatitis, known as "Chrysanthemum allergy" or "Compositae dermatitis" in general. Main source of this allergy is the attachment of the airborne plant particles to the skin [167]. On the other hand, Guin and Skidmore has reported that contact dermatitis to Compositae plants can be confused with photosensitivity or atopic eczema [168]. However, these plants are still found to be an important factor in the patients with summer exacerbation of dermatitis, even without photosensitivity [169]. 

Compositae dermatitis was covered in more detail in the first section. Farmers are perhaps more likely to become allergic to weeds, while florists often break out to chrysanthemum [357, 358] and other flowering species. Many such patients experience multiple sensitivities, either as a concomitant or cross-reaction [157], and sensitivity can be severe [6]. Gardeners (or perhaps more accurately, groundskeepers [315]) represented the occupational cases of dandelion dermatitis in one series. 

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