Narcissus and Daffodil

404 C.G. Julian and P.W. Bowers
Figure 18.5 Polymorphic calcium oxalate crystals. The needle-shaped crystals are
ca. 100 µm in length. (See Colour plate 5)
The alkaloids found in the slime vessels may be responsible for the rarely occurring
allergic reactions to narcissus occasionally reported (Hausen and Oestmann,
1988). Traumatisation of the skin by calcium oxalate crystals allows the penetration
of these substances from the slime vessels. At least 15 different alkaloids have
been isolated from narcissus (Barton et al., 1963), but only two of these were found
to be capable of producing a weakly positive allergic response when injected into
sensitised guinea pigs (Gude et al., 1988). These alkaloids, homolycorin and masonin,
were not detected in the stems or leaves of narcissus: their highest concentration
was found in the bulbs, although sap extracted from bulbs produced minimal
allergic effect. It would seem from this work that narcissus has very little ability to
produce an allergic response. Additionally, a Finnish study produced only two