Spanish Moss, or Tillandsia usneoides, is not a moss but an epiphyte in the bromeliad family. It likes warmth and humidity. In the Augusta area, you are most likely to see it hanging from trees near a body of water. It tends to grow on larger trees, especially live oaks and bald cypress. Why those trees – is there something particular about them? As with so many of my questions about the natural world, it’s not easy to find an exact answer. Certainly the bald cypress is a good option, since it is usually found growing in or near water, which provides the humidity that the spanish moss needs. One idea is that possibly bald cypress and live oak, more than other trees, tend to exude the chemical nutrients that the spanish moss needs to live, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.
Does the spanish moss plant hurt the tree it grows on? Probably not. As an epiphyte, spanish moss does not infiltrate the tissues of its host tree, as a parasite plant would. Epiphytes get most of their nutrients from the air. Spanish moss plants have no roots. The long strands of the plant (which are basically leaves) curl around tree branches and cling to bark textures. There is an argument that if spanish moss is hanging very thickly from tree branches, it is cutting off some of the light from the tree’s own leaves. On the other hand, if you see a tree in obvious decline with the spanish moss hanging very thickly from it, it’s likely that the spanish moss increased its growth only after the tree’s outer branches and foliage started dying off for reasons unrelated to the spanish moss. Most experts advise you not to worry about the spanish moss – it is just hanging on the tree, not hurting it. However, there are pecan farmers who clear heavy spanish moss growth off their crop trees. Very thick spanish moss accumulation can be heavy enough to break a tree branch, especially after rains, when spanish moss plants absorb several times their weight in water.
When there are long periods between rains, spanish moss can go dormant. It does have flowers, and they are usually quite small. Water and other nutrients are taken into the plant through scales on the outer surface of the leaves. Spanish moss usually spreads to new locations via tiny seeds. Each seed is attached to a small puff of lightweight fibers, which makes it float on wind currents.
Does the spanish moss plant hurt the tree it grows on? Probably not. As an epiphyte, spanish moss does not infiltrate the tissues of its host tree, as a parasite plant would. Epiphytes get most of their nutrients from the air. Spanish moss plants have no roots. The long strands of the plant (which are basically leaves) curl around tree branches and cling to bark textures. There is an argument that if spanish moss is hanging very thickly from tree branches, it is cutting off some of the light from the tree’s own leaves. On the other hand, if you see a tree in obvious decline with the spanish moss hanging very thickly from it, it’s likely that the spanish moss increased its growth only after the tree’s outer branches and foliage started dying off for reasons unrelated to the spanish moss. Most experts advise you not to worry about the spanish moss – it is just hanging on the tree, not hurting it. However, there are pecan farmers who clear heavy spanish moss growth off their crop trees. Very thick spanish moss accumulation can be heavy enough to break a tree branch, especially after rains, when spanish moss plants absorb several times their weight in water.
When there are long periods between rains, spanish moss can go dormant. It does have flowers, and they are usually quite small. Water and other nutrients are taken into the plant through scales on the outer surface of the leaves. Spanish moss usually spreads to new locations via tiny seeds. Each seed is attached to a small puff of lightweight fibers, which makes it float on wind currents.
Most traditional and historical human uses of this plant relate to using it as a padding, stuffing, or filler of some kind – the uses ranged from stuffing upholstery cushions to mixing it with clay to make a building material. Spanish Moss may have some future medicinal uses – it has been tested in recent years for controlling blood glucose and for some protective skin effects, although such products may not be on the market yet.
Various kinds of animals use thick areas of spanish moss as a shelter – bats, reptiles, amphibians. Some birds build nests with it. There is a jumping spider (Pelegrina tillandsiae) whose only habitat is spanish moss.
But what about chiggers? Have you ever been advised not to touch spanish moss because chiggers will come out of it and bite you? The most scientific advice I could find says that you should only fear getting a chigger attack from collecting spanish moss off the ground. Spanish moss hanging from trees should be chigger-free. But it might not be free of jumping spiders, bats, and snakes!
For information on visiting Phinizy Swamp, see: http://phinizycenter.org/
Various kinds of animals use thick areas of spanish moss as a shelter – bats, reptiles, amphibians. Some birds build nests with it. There is a jumping spider (Pelegrina tillandsiae) whose only habitat is spanish moss.
But what about chiggers? Have you ever been advised not to touch spanish moss because chiggers will come out of it and bite you? The most scientific advice I could find says that you should only fear getting a chigger attack from collecting spanish moss off the ground. Spanish moss hanging from trees should be chigger-free. But it might not be free of jumping spiders, bats, and snakes!
For information on visiting Phinizy Swamp, see: http://phinizycenter.org/
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