My first experience with Spanish moss happened when I was a child visiting my aunt who lived on Old St. Augustine Road in Tallahassee. My family had driven all the way from New York. As we approached her driveway, we were awed by the giant live oaks draped with wispy gray strands that lined the old canopy road. We had fun playing in her large yard, virtually a fairy land with this strange gray ‘moss’ dripping from the tree branches. On the last day of our visit, we carefully wrapped some up in moist newspaper to carry home to hang in our cedar trees on Long Island. Spanish moss is native to areas of high humidity in the Southeast United States and needs 300 frost free days per year. It is most impressive on live oaks bordering wetlands. No wonder ours died.
These swallowtail kites used plenty of Spanish moss in their nest. Photo by Tara Tanaka.
Spanish moss is not a moss, nor is it Spanish. It is a native, perennial, epiphytic herb. It is in the Bromeliad family, kin to pineapples. An epiphyte, or air plant, grows upon trees for support and does not tap into the tree to collect resources. If you look closely at a strand, you will see tiny hairs that absorb mineral-rich water that runs down tree branches. Spanish moss makes its own food through photosynthesis and is not parasitic. It is a flowering plant; look carefully to find the small pale green flowers in spring and summer. The flowers form seeds with hairy sails that float on the wind and stick to tree branches. Who knew?
Ecologically it probably has more functions than are generally known. It is the main ingredient in a flying squirrel’s nest. I found this out in a surprising manner. I was showing a group of children a bird nest box. I could see some Spanish moss hanging out of the lower edge of the door to the house and I thought that perhaps a tufted titmouse had used this house. I opened the side door and, within seconds, out popped an equally surprised flying squirrel from the nest box hole. It scampered all the way to the top of the utility pole to which the box was mounted and glided to the cover of a nearby live oak. Meanwhile I jumped about two feet into the air, much to the delight of the children on the nature walk. Now whenever I see Spanish moss hanging from a bird nest box, I always knock first before opening the door.
Some birds, including yellow-throated warblers, northern parulas, and orchard orioles build their nests in clumps of Spanish moss. Other birds gather moss for nesting material.
Spanish moss provides cover for insects and small animals and at least one species of spider is known to occur only in Spanish moss. Several species of bats, including the Seminole bat, roost by day in clumps of Spanish moss. Zebra longwing butterflies roost on it overnight, several butterflies sharing the same garland of moss. I have witnessed this several times both at Native Nurseries and at my home. You just need to roam about at dusk during warmer weather. It helps if you have one of the zebra longwing’s host plants, yellow passion vine, rambling about the ground beneath your live oak or other trees.
Spanish moss is a valuable ecological component of our local plant communities. It is not bad for trees. There is no need to remove it. I encourage you to look more closely at it and appreciate its value and beauty. What would Tallahassee look like without its gray streamers and garlands draping from tree branches?
