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Asparagaceae
Genera in the family of Asparagaceae ( Table 1 ) include asparagus, aspidistra, and hyacinth.
Table 1
Genera of Asparagaceae
| Acanthocarpus (popcornflower) | Drimiopsis (drimiopsis) | Parsonsia (silkpod) |
| Agave (century plants) | Eriospermum (eriospermum) | Peliosanthes (tropical lily of the valley) |
| Albuca (slime lilies) | Eustrephus (wombat berry) | Polygonatum (King Solomon's-seal) |
| Asparagus (asparagus) | Fusifilum (fusifilum) | Rohdea (sacred lily) |
| Aspidistra (aspidistra) | Hosta hosta | Romnalda (romnalda) |
| Bowiea (climbing onion) | Hyacinthoides (hyacinth) | Ruscus (broom) |
| Brodiaea (cluster lilies) | Lachenalia (lachenalia) | Sansevieria (snake plant) |
| Chlorophytum (spider plants) | Laxmannia (laxmannia) | Scilla (squill) |
| Convallaria (lily of the valley) | Ledebouria (common squill) | Smilacina (false Solomon's seal) |
| Cordyline (cabbage tree) | Muscari (grape hyacinth) | Tupistra (tupistra) |
| Dracaena (dracaena) | Ophiopogon (mondo) | Urginea (squill) |
| Drimia (squill) | Ornithogalum (star-of-Bethlehem) |
Agave americana
Contact dermatitis has been attributed to Agave americana (century plant, maguey, or American aloe) [ ]. When the skin is splashed with sap from the plant, intense itching and burning occur rapidly and are associated with marked erythema and edema; papular and vesicular lesions then develop, with a linear distribution following the trajectory of the splashes. In some cases the lesions are purpuric [ , ] and may be accompanied by a leukocytoclastic vasculitis, perhaps because of deposition of oxalic crystals [ ].
Agave sisalana
Sensitization among workers exposed to sisal was studied in 138 workers and 78 non-exposed controls, who were skin prick tested using dry sisal extract and fresh sisal sap [ ]. Sera from a subset of 43 participants were analysed for total and sisal specific IgE. Prick tests were positive in 74% of the sisal workers compared with 17% of the controls. All the exposed workers had raised IgE concentrations (> 100 kU/l) and 27% of tested sera had raised sisal-specific IgE. There was a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms in both sensitized and non-sensitized sisal workers.
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