Suffocating in the Cities?
"In 1959 the official rate of allergy in the U.S. was between 2 to 5% of the public. By 1999 the official rate of allergy had increased to an incredible 38% of Americans. Asthma, which was once considered rare, is now the number one chronic childhood disease in the US."
Wonder why? Part of the answer is that city trees, by virtue of our horticultural choices, are wind-pollinated and almost all male (the pollen-producing plants.) Female trees make those ikky fruits and seeds that bespeckle our immaculate lawns and parks, and we wouldn't want that, now would we? (Birds, squirrels and other tree-feeders might have another opinion.)
This is a very interesting little bit of ethno-botany, and if you are a city-dwelling asthma sufferer, at least you'll know now that it's not your imagination when you take a drive out into the country, and breath easier!
And if you are considering planting trees around home, check out the OPALS Plant Allergy Scale and save your breath.