PARIETARIA-JUDAICA L A CAUSE OF ALLERGIC DISEASE IN SYDNEY - A STUDY OF HABIT AND SPREAD OF THE WEED

Over sixty-four patients with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and/or asthma due to Parietaria judaica have been identified since 1984. In fourteen of these patients Parietaria judaica pollen was the sole provoking cause. Aspects of the ecology of Parietaria judaica that are important for allergy sufferers include the small hydrophilic pollen, long pollinating season, abundant synchronous anthesis, anthropogenic distribution, high seed production, germination in a wide range of environments, high plasticity and effective dispersal. It is suggested that Parietaria judaica has the potential to establish throughout large areas of eastern, southern and southwestern Australia and therefore has important implications for other cities in temperate Australia. © 1990.