SPECIAL

The iconic Spanish moss

Lloyd Singleton
Spanish moss in oak trees is iconic for southern humid areas.

Hurricane Isaias left his mark on our Arboretum grounds last week; an eighty-year-old oak in the picnic area toppled, destructing parts of the picnic shelter, glass greenhouse and tool shed roof. No one was hurt, and structures can be repaired. A few other trees showed damage and otherwise, mostly downed limbs and sticks and leaves and debris resulted. As our Cooperative Extension and New Hanover county team gathered to commence the clean-up nicknamed “pick-up-sticks”, I elected for some light work given the extreme heat and humidity of our August days. My self-assigned task was raking Spanish moss off Bermuda turf. With a couple decades of landscape management career responsibilities in Florida, I understand the importance of allowing sunlight to turf, and large mounds of the blown Spanish moss debris needed to be removed to keep the grass green and healthy.

Spanish moss is one of the most visible signs of our local southern ecology. In poetry and pictures, the iconic look of long clusters of the plants, dangling from tree limbs and blowing in the wind sets the stage for southern hospitality and sweet tea for me. Despite the common name, Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is not a moss at all, but rather an 'air plant' in the bromeliad family. Each tiny bromeliad has scaly leaves which cling to the next for the notable graceful arrangement that sways in the breeze.

Not only symbolically important to humans, Spanish moss is critical to native wildlife. Animals use it for cover to hide from predators. Bats bed in it as day-time resting sites; Zebra Longwing butterfly roosts in it at night. For birds, it is convenient nesting material; warblers and orioles weave the moss into hanging sacks to hold eggs and young.

Spanish moss is not parasitic as it does not penetrate trees and steal their nutrients. It is an air plant or epiphyte, able to pull moisture and nutrients from the air and rain. Spanish moss prefers high light and proliferates in trees that are weak for some other reason, so an extreme amount may be an indicator of poor tree health likely caused by soil compaction, altered drainage, disease, or insect infestation.

Another misconception about Spanish moss is that it harbors a biting insect commonly called a chigger or redbug. The natural habitat of these creatures is mostly low, damp areas with heavy natural vegetation. Fallen moss—and any plant material on or near the ground—may contain chiggers, but moss in trees hanging above the ground rarely harbors them.

Some early Southerners earned their livelihood collecting Spanish moss, which was used to stuff car cushions and upholstery. Today, Spanish moss is collected and used by the craft and floral trade. While these epiphytes may grow on wires, fences, and other non-living structures, they are particularly well-adapted to well-lit, moist habitats commonly found near rivers, ponds, and lakes. Spanish moss enjoys areas where the humidity is fairly high and air pollution is low. It can be grown indoors with regular misting and humid conditions.

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So, as summer breezes continue to blow and hopefully remain more gentle than recent hurricane force strength, we can enjoy our “southern-lovely” Spanish moss swaying in the wind. If you would like to help financially in the repair and reconstruction of our damaged out-buildings, please consider a donation here https://thefriends.wildapricot.org/Donate or via mail to The Friends of the New Hanover County Arboretum Inc., 6206 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403.

Lloyd Singleton is director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Center for New Hanover County, located at the Arboretum. Reach him at lsingleton@nhcgov.com or 910-798-7660. The Arboretum is free and open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

Isaias damage at New Hanover County Arboretum.