Plant: California pepper tree as source of allergen urushiol, trigger of skin allergy...

Back to allergy anecdotes...plants spanning from multiple families are known to be allergens.

Family Anacardiaceae  tops the list of such villainous plants...poison oak, poison sumac, poison ivy, cashew, mango, peppers...

This is a California pepper tree...common to South California landscapes...it has beautiful curtain like drooping branches and green-red pepper con-size fruits...

but don't be lured to touch them..they contain the vicious allergen urushiol...can easily trigger allergic reactions...

Not only the living tree, but its dry parts too...the other day I become a victim of it. Saw this bird nest fallen from a pepper tree..in curiosity to check if there is any egg or fledgling inside, I handled it, not even in hands, but shoes...perhaps, it released dusts which came in contact with my skin..I had barely reached home, saw these big hives (urticaria in medical jargon) on my necks and below..it has subsided, but yet to heal completely, even after two days...

 Hope, the information helps predisposed people like me...