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Growing Wise
Spanish moss and ball moss
By JAMES STEVENSON
Article published on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007 |
The imagery of the native Florida landscape inevitably includes tresses of Spanish moss hanging from the branches of live oak trees.
Like so many plants that have been given inappropriate common names, Spanish moss is neither Spanish nor is it a moss. It belongs to a group of flowering plants known as bromeliads.
Familiar bromeliads include the pineapple, and many colorful house and landscape plants. As a group, bromeliads are generally epiphytes, which means, literally that they live “on” other plants.
This is not a form of parasitism, for the bromeliads do not take any nutrient directly from their host plant. Instead, the bromeliads, and Spanish moss in particular, use the trees they grow in simply to provide a place in the sun.
Without roots the plants must absorb moisture through their sponge-like leaves; the healthiest colonies are often found growing over ponds or other areas of very high humidity.
We get many calls here at Pinellas County Extension Environmental Horticulture help line (582-2110) about Spanish moss “killing trees.” This is not the case.
We tell callers that the moss is simply a sign that perhaps the tree is under some sort of stress, preventing it from out-growing the moss. The only dangers that Spanish moss would pose to a tree, would be to become too abundant, thus weighty during heavy rain, causing the branches to break.
Again, this would be more of a threat to a tree that was already stressed.
Proof that Spanish moss, and its cousin the ball moss, are not parasites comes from seeing them growing quite happily on power lines.
Nevertheless, Spanish moss can be considered a pest, especially in pecan orchards where heavy infestations can impact tree health by weighing-down branches and shading-out developing fruit.
Both species belong to the genus Tillandsia which are found throughout the New World.
Spanish moss has a broad distribution, from Virginia all the way to Chile.
Both Spanish moss and ball moss have clever ways of getting from treetop to treetop.
Both produce tiny, fragrant flowers, visited by insects, possibly moths.
The developing seeds bear tiny, furry parachutes that enable the seed to drift on the wind to other trees where they lodge in the bark.
The flowers are produced in spring, and the seed ripens just in time for hurricane season.
Now THAT would move seed far and wide! Other ways moss can travel from tree to tree is through the activity of birds.
Several species use Spanish and ball moss for nesting material. Once the nest is abandoned, the moss will continue to grow, established far from the parent clump.
James Stevenson is a public education specialist for the Florida Botanical Gardens.
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Article published on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007
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