>Another one of those flowers that are causing me >tremendous physical grief from allergies as I try to >resist the desire to claw my eyes out of my head
OK, brief lesson in floral biology: if you find the flower attractive it isn't affecting your allergies. Gaudy flowers are displays for attracting biotic vectors for pollen, so unless bees are buzzing in your head, tulip pollen never gets in your nose. It's all those small, green, inconspicuous flowers of things like trees and grasses that are wind pollinated that dump all the pollen that affects your sinuses. This time of year its deciduous trees.
Come on GrrlScientist, how did you miss this one?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8026592.stm
i didn't miss it; i can't get the PDF!
>Another one of those flowers that are causing me >tremendous physical grief from allergies as I try to >resist the desire to claw my eyes out of my head
OK, brief lesson in floral biology: if you find the flower attractive it isn't affecting your allergies. Gaudy flowers are displays for attracting biotic vectors for pollen, so unless bees are buzzing in your head, tulip pollen never gets in your nose. It's all those small, green, inconspicuous flowers of things like trees and grasses that are wind pollinated that dump all the pollen that affects your sinuses. This time of year its deciduous trees.