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Spanish moss
Scientific Name: Tillandsia usneoides

Spanish-moss, also called Florida moss, graybeard, or long moss. Spanish Moss is not a true moss. It is an epiphytic plant, epiphytic is defines as ‘A plant which naturally grows upon another plant but does not derive any nourishment from it. Many of the orchids in cultivation are epiphytic’, which grows on another plant, but does not rely on the host plant for nutrients; epiphytes make their own food.

They are sometimes referred to as air plants because most have aerial roots; One should not that Spanish-moss does not have any roots. It uses its long, thin, scaly stems to wrap around the host tree and hang down from the branches. The leaves are covered with cup-like, permeable scales that 'catch' moisture and nutrients from the air and from pockets on the surface of the host. This water-trapping ability allows Spanish-moss to withstand long dry periods. In extreme dry spells, the plant becomes dormant until moisture returns.

While the plant is not leechlike, it can sometimes damage the host tree by over-shading the leaves, thus reducing photosynthesis, or by weighing down and breaking the branches.

The plants have very tiny seeds that are dispersed by wind and birds. Birds may also carry off small fragments that easily reproduce new plants.

Spanish moss was harvested for years as a stuffing material in automobile seats, furniture, and mattresses mostly in Louisiana, today this state still uses the moss to a large extent. The moss-stuffed mattresses were said to be cooler and more comfortable due to the natural insulating properties of the plant. This was especially important in pre-air-conditioning days. Moss pickers were hired and used long poles to pull the stringy masses off the trees. The plants were then dried and cured before being used.

No known insect will attack moss fiber, eat, destroy or live within it. Moss ranks next to curled hair in resiliency. That is why it is desirable for use in upholstery. Owing to the large amount of waste matter and the resultant loss of weight with each handling, moss is, contrary to current opinion, not cheap filler for furniture. It is used only in the finest and most expensive furniture or cushions.

Today, the stems are used occasionally in upholstery and as a packing material in other areas. Florida is trying to cash in on this market as well. Spanish-moss is a popular mulch and is widely used in the floral industry. Many floral arrangements use Spanish moss around the plant base to hold in moisture. It is also seen in certain types of Cajun architecture as insulation and it is sometimes draped along fences or wires to provide privacy screening in backyards.

Several species of songbirds use the plant material for nest building or weave their nests in the moss clumps. Warblers are especially fond of these sites, as are bats. Many reptiles and amphibians hide inside the thick masses.

The leaves are grayish-green, narrowly linear, and up to 2" long. The plant appears filamentous with numerous branches and is covered with silvery-gray scales.

The flowers are tiny, inconspicuous blooms of pale greenish-blue. They form in the axils of the leaves and may give off a light fragrance at night.

Tiny capsules develop after flowers and eventually split open to release the seeds.

Spanish moss grows well in partial shade. It prefers moist environments but can survive well in dry habitats too. It most commonly adopts oak or cypress trees as hosts but may be found on other species.