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The nature and distribution of daffodil pickers' rash
1Department of Dermatology, Treliske Hospital, Truro, UK.
Contact Dermatitis
|February 10, 1998
Abstract:
The rash associated with picking daffodils has long been recognized, but the distribution and differing types of lesions have not been explained. This study, from observations in the field, attempts to clarify the position. The method of picking and then gathering the flowers explains the development of the rash at the points of contact of plant sap with skin. Crystals of calcium oxalate in the sap, in conjunction with alkaloids, act as an irritant, and also cause the characteristic sores.