Bermuda Grass, or Devil Grass for Allergy Sufferers!

 

Bermuda Grass, or Devil Grass for Allergy Sufferers!

Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group

Bermuda grass… It always brings me back to my teenage days pulling weeds when I worked as a gardener in high school! This grass is extremely tenacious, and it was nearly impossible to completely eradicate it from a garden bed. There was something very appealing about it, however. The blue-green hue of the blades of grass made a distinct impact, and its ability to grow just about anywhere certainly made it one of the hardier strains of turf grass! Bermuda grass is very common on golf courses, as its low growing nature makes it ideal for the perfectly manicured putting greens amongst the rolling hills of the country clubs. It is also serves as a better choice for golf courses since it is more drought-tolerant, more pest-resistant, and recovers quickly from high traffic than many other types of grass.

On the other hand, its tenacity also can be an invasive quality. It produces an abundance of pollen that is spread via wind (the technical term describing pollen that is transported via the wind is anemophilous), causing those with grass allergies to suffer during its growing season. Grass pollen tends to pop up in mid-April, peak in mid-June, and slowly decrease thereafter. However, lately grass pollen has been appreciated outside of that traditional window due to apparent shifts in seasonal weather trends. Pollen grains are uniporate (meaning they have one distinct pore  when seen under the microscope). Bermuda pollen grains are 20-30 microns (μm) in size, which is one of the main reasons that they are so allergenic.

Image 1 (taken by Forsyth County staff on May 19, 2025): Grass pollen grain (not necessarily Bermuda grass) at 40x magnification. Notice the single pore at the bottom.

Remember – the smaller the pollen, the easier it is for it to travel far distances (via the wind). The smaller size also allows the pollen to travel deeper into the respiratory system, which can lead to both nasal symptoms (runny nose, sneezing, congestion) and pulmonary symptoms (mucous production, wheezing, chest tightness). This might be the reason for one of the many other names of this grass – Devil Grass! My patients would certainly describe it as such!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Experience the Benefits of No Mow March this Spring

Image
What’s Up, Forsyth? We are excited to share with you a new initiative within the City of Winston-Salem and in Forsyth County that will protect pollinators, reduce water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and improve air quality in our communities! For the first time ever, we are participating in “No Mow March”—an adaptation of “No Mow May,” which began in the United Kingdom where the growing season starts later than in North Carolina. What is “No Mow March”? As the name suggests, Winston-Salem residents are encouraged to let their yards grow through March 31 and will not be cited for not mowing their lawns. However, to avoid fines, residents should resume compliance with the city code on high grass and weeds in April. Participants in No Mow March are encouraged to take the pledge on the City of Winston-Salem’s Sustainability webpage . Also, yard signs are available for purchase for only $14! These signs will help raise awareness of the initiative and increase adoption of ...
Read more

Kicking Off Pollen Season with Cedar Fever

Image
What's Up, Forsyth? The Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection officially began our pollen monitoring and forecasting program for the 2025 season on February 10th. In addition to reading our daily report, which you can access by following us on Facebook and X , checking our website , or subscribing to emails and faxes, we are excited to provide more in-depth information through a series of pollen-focused blog posts. These short blogs will feature some of our "worst offenders" throughout the year and will be written by allergy specialists from the Allergy and Asthma Center of NC. We're kicking off the series with cedar, which are abundant this time of year.  Cedar Fever Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Pollen season is traditionally thought of as occurring in the early spring – March into May – when the characteristic yellow plumes float through the air when we get a lovely breeze and ca...
Read more

Spring's Gold Rush: An Oak Pollen Adventure

Image
  Spring’s Gold Rush: An Oak Pollen Adventure Written by Anne Ambs, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group My latest weekend adventure took me to Winston-Salem in search of oak trees and oak pollen. I was quickly rewarded with my first sighting of the mighty oak while ambling down the Old Salem causeway and again while wandering around Salem Lake.   These giant beauties inspired me to look up a few fun facts about oak trees. Fun facts about oaks:  They are home to migrating warblers. Although oak trees are wind-pollinated, they support a wide variety of pollinators, including 500+ species of butterflies and moths. Symbolizing strength, the oak tree became the national tree of the US in 2004. Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks because it is home to many oak trees. Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree due to their height and high water content. Some oak trees that are over 1000 years old include the Great Oak in Temecula, CA, ...
Read more