Pollen Production a Problem : Arizona County Bans New Olive Trees

TUCSON —  The olive branch, an ancient symbol of peace emblazoned on the United Nations flag, is unwelcome in one Arizona desert county which became the first to ban olives as a pollen nuisance.

Pima County has declared war on the olive tree, first imported to California by Franciscan missionaries in 1769 and cultivated in Mediterranean lands for perhaps 54 centuries.

The ripened fruit of the olive tree decorates swizzle sticks in martini glasses and canapes at holiday parties. Its fine-grained wood can be used for sculpture. The extracted oil winds up on salads and in kitchen recipes. But the wind-blown pollen causes sneezing.

Mark Sneller, head of county pollen and mold monitoring, says olive trees don’t belong in the Sonora Desert because they contribute to allergies and respiratory problems.

Severe Reactions Produced

“Olive trees put out geysers of pollens which, in combination with other pollens, are known to produce severe allergic reactions,” says county Supervisor David Yetman. “They also live about three times as long as a human being. People don’t come here anymore to improve their allergy problems and we’re trying to reverse that.”

The Pima County Board of Supervisors declared a health war on olive trees in 1984, banning new plantings of olive or mulberry, another pollen offender. Property owners also were required to keep Bermuda grass trimmed.

The olive-pollen ban was a first in the United States, but has piqued municipal interest in other Arizona communities. In neighboring Nevada, Boulder City passed an ordinance in May, 1985, “that was modeled after ours,” Sneller said, adding that Las Vegas and Fresno, Calif., also are becoming active in pollen control.

Pollen Decrease Noted

When Pima’s ordinance took effect in January, 1985, new plantings were banned but property owners weren’t required to yank out offending trees or lawns.

“We’re going into our third season and we’ve been able to see there has been a decrease in the amount of pollen of all kinds,” Sneller said.

With some irrigation, olive trees grow nicely in arid zones. That’s why nurseries sold them and developers landscaped with olive. Marybeth Carlile, director of Southern Arizona Water Resources Assn., said old-timers planted the trees to give Tucson a lush “Eastern look.” Her group encourages landscaping with low water-use vegetation.

“Aero-allergens are the biggest pollution problem in the Western states,” Sneller says. “I don’t care what the Environmental Protection Agency says.”

“Why should a housing development or home for the aged be constructed following countless building codes and then be surrounded with 100 olive trees and Bermuda grass?” he asks.