Spanish Moss, Signature Plant of the South

Joanne K., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

Visitors to the South are frequently surprised to see long squiggly gray clumps dripping from trees, fences, and telephone poles and wonder what they are. Those wild-looking masses are Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), a signature plant of the South.

A native of the southern U.S., the stems of Spanish moss form curtains up to 20 feet long, creating its distinctive beard-like appearance. Spanish moss can be found from southern Virginia to eastern Texas growing along the moist coastal regions. It's also native throughout much of Mexico and Central and South America.

In Greenville, it can be seen in several spots, including Green Springs Park, River Park North, and along the South Tar River Greenway. Due to its gray, scraggly appearance, it's also known by other names such as Graybeard, Long Moss, and Old Man's Beard.

Despite its name, Spanish moss is not really a moss. It's a perennial evergreen epiphyte in the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae).    

Epiphyte means that it gets its nutrients from sunlight, air, and the dust and minerals in rainwater. Thus it's not a parasite on the host trees such as live oaks and bald cypress that give it support. Spanish moss doesn't kill trees.

Spanish moss plants come from seeds produced by Spanish moss flowers. The flowers develop a seed pod that splits open when mature. Like dandelion seeds, moss seeds have hair tufts enabling them to float through the air before attaching to a tree trunk to grow.

Spanish moss growing along the South Greenville Greenway looks like a scraggly beard. Joanne K.

The Spanish moss leaf is gray-green, and the stem is wiry and flexible. Salicyna. CC BY-SA 4.0

The small green Spanish moss flower is inconspicuous but fragrant. Scott Zona. CC BY-NC 2.0

Birds and the wind can also carry tiny pieces of moss to new areas to produce new plants. Another means of propagation is to tear off a piece of the plant and put it on some type of support.

The adult plant does not have aerial roots. Instead, it has specialized gray scales on its stems and leaves to absorb the moisture and nutrients from the environment needed to thrive.

Although they are normally a gray color, these scales will turn green when it rains. High humidity is required for Spanish moss to grow. During droughts it goes dormant until the rain returns.

Gray scales on the leaves and stems feed the moss by absorbing moisture and nutrition from the air. Salicyna. CC BY-SA 4.0

Spanish moss turns green when it absorbs rainwater. U of Florida Extension

In the early 20th century, Spanish moss factories were common throughout Florida and Louisiana. These factories harvested, processed, and marketed Spanish moss for many uses, such as insulation, packing materials, bedding, rope, and stuffing for furniture and car seats. The development of synthetic products for these purposes ended this business in mid-century.

According to Vince Bells, retired ECU botanist, John Lawson, the Englishman who explored the Carolinas in the early 1700s, noted in his journal that the Indians used it to thatch roofs and diaper babies.

Spanish moss is now used mainly for decorative purposes or craft projects.

Some bat species roost in Spanish moss clumps, while birds like yellow-throated warblers build their nests inside them. Other birds, like Baltimore orioles, use the moss to build nests. Chiggers and spiders may be found in the moss so wearing gloves is advised when handling it.

If grown outside in the home garden, Spanish moss doesn't require watering or fertilizing. If grown indoors, it requires bright, indirect light and humid conditions. Allow the plant to dry in between waterings and feed periodically with a half-strength liquid fertilizer.

While some may see Spanish moss as a Halloween decoration, others appreciate its ethereal aura signifying that you are in the South!