Opis:
Spanish Moss drapes trees in the south and gives the huge live oaks of Savanah, Georgia its iconic appeal. This video explains the misnomers of its name. It is not spanish nor is it a moss! So what is it. Spanish moss in is actually a true flowering plant of the Angiosperm group. It is in the Bromeliad family along with familiar pineapple. Spainish Moss (Tillandsia usnneoides) is a non-parasitic epiphyte that hangs from trees particularly Live oak and Southern Magnolia. It produces flowers and wind-blown seeds but much of its reproduction is asexual. Some parts of the plant that break off and land to grow on another tree are called 'festoons.' The plant also produces vegetative structures called 'pups' that are made to break off and be carried by the wind to other plants. Spanish moss gets its name from the French 'Barbe de espagnole' meaning 'Spanish Beard', so named for the grey beards of the Spanish conquistadors! Later the name morphed into 'Spanish Moss' or 'Grey Beard'. While it does not gain nutrition from the tree it sits on, it may compete with the tree for sunlight or weigh the tree down, particularly when wet, making the tree more susceptible to branches breaking off particularly in storms. Spanish moss appears grey when it is dry and quickly greens up after a rain.