Fine in the countryside, but sneezing and itchy eyes on tree-lined city streets every April? Plane trees are among the most planted street trees in Europe, and their pollen is a known spring trigger. Our test checks IgE to three plane tree proteins, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to birch, oak and the foods linked through LTP.
The London plane (Platanus × acerifolia) is the tree with the patchy, peeling bark and the spiky seed balls. It tolerates pollution and hard pruning, so cities across Europe have planted it in large numbers.
Plane trees release a lot of pollen over a short flowering window in spring, usually overlapping with birch. In Mediterranean cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, plane is one of the leading tree pollens.
In Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland, plane trees are common in cities but rare in the countryside. That makes them a typical urban trigger: symptoms on certain streets, not in the park outside town. In Finland the climate is too cold for them, so plane mostly matters on trips south.
Plane flowers at the same time as birch in much of northern Europe. Separate results for each help sort out which one your blood reacts to.
People describe spring hay fever: sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy eyes, and for some a cough or tight chest. Plane trees also shed tiny star-shaped hairs from young leaves and seed balls, which can irritate eyes and throats on any day. That irritation is mechanical, not IgE.
Some people sensitised to plane pollen, especially in Spain, also report reactions to plant foods such as peach, hazelnut, peanut and apple. This link runs through lipid transfer proteins (LTPs).
From a finger-prick sample, the lab measures IgE to three single plane tree pollen proteins (molecular components), as part of 300 allergens and allergen components. There is no whole plane extract on the panel. Birch, oak, olive and peach Pru p 3 are on the same report, so a doctor can see both the spring tree picture and any LTP pattern.
A positive result means your blood shows IgE to plane tree pollen. That is sensitisation, not a diagnosis. Each value gets a class from Negative to Very high, to discuss with a doctor.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
In central and western Europe, plane trees flower for two to three weeks in April, sometimes into early May. In Spain and Italy they start in March. The season overlaps with birch.
Plane trees shed fine star-shaped hairs from young leaves and breaking seed balls, often outside the flowering weeks. These hairs irritate eyes and throats mechanically. That is not an IgE reaction, and a pollen test will not pick it up.
In North America, plane trees are called sycamores. In Britain and Ireland, sycamore usually means a maple, which is a different tree. The panel measures London plane (Platanus × acerifolia).
Yes, in some people. Plane pollen contains an LTP, Pla a 3, similar to LTPs in peach, hazelnut and other plant foods. The panel measures Pla a 3 and peach Pru p 3, so your report shows whether that pattern appears. Talk to a doctor about any food reactions.
