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Allergies to Echinacea, Goldenrod, and Chamomile

Thomas Leo Ogren
June 29, 2009

Allergies to Echinacea are neither particularly common, nor especially rare. Since Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a composite Family member, and is related to ragweed, cross-reactive allergic reactions are to be expected (especially in those already allergic to ragweed). In a similar vein, some 20% of people already allergic to ragweed, will also test positive for allergy to Goldenrod (Solidago spp.), which is also another composite. Goldenrod allergy is almost entirely found only among those who have goldenrod growing in their own gardens.
Allergic response to Chamomile has for many years been well documented, and in some unusual cases a single cup of chamomile tea has put the drinker into serious anaphylactic shock. Chamomile is yet another ragweed relative, and is also a member of the much larger (and often implicated in allergy studies) group of plants called composites, the Compositae Family of plants.
Allergies from Goldenrod are often misunderstood and underestimated, since it has been widely claimed and published that Goldenrod is insect-pollinated and does not cause allergies. In fact, Goldenrod is amphiphilous, and is pollinated by BOTH insects and the wind. Strictly insect-pollinated plants (Zoophilous plants) are not often implicated in allergies and asthma, but amphiphilous plants (a prime example would be Acacia species) often are.
None of this is to suggest that one ought not to grow Goldenrod or ever drink chamomile tea. However, if one already is especially sensitized to ragweed pollen, then all ragweed relatives ought to be treated with extra respect and care…and it would not make good sense to use Goldenrod flowers as cut flowers, because once they are brought into the warm, dry environment of a house, the allergenic pollen will indeed shed.