A Unique Stellate Plant Hair on Human Skin

Abstract

An unusual stellate structure has been noted in the skin scrapings of diseased and nondiseased skin. It has a thick potassium hydroxide-resistant wall suggestive of cellulose. Its morphology is that of the stellate pubescence found on the leaves and stems of viburnum dentatum, arrowwood, an abundant deciduous plant that grows over much of the United States and Canada. We hope this report will familiarize both the dermatologist and the pathologist with this distinctive skin and slide contaminant of plant origin.