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Spanish Moss

Episode #1
Release Date: January 05, 2024

What do you know about Spanish moss—there are many myths and legends, but are they true?

Episode Transcript:

ANNE
What comes to mind when you think of a southern landscape? Maybe large, graceful oaks draped oh so perfectly with Spanish moss. Spanish moss is a quintessential part of our landscapes down South, and it's often something that interests our visitors. I know the first time I saw it, I thought it was so unusual and actually I noticed it all the time, and now I don't even pay any attention to it seems.

So, what do you know about Spanish moss? There are many myths and legends. Are they true? Let's find out in today's episode.

JULIE
Welcome to your Central Florida Yard, the podcast series where we explore how to successfully garden in the unique climate of Central Florida. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this podcast is for you. So grab your shovel and get ready to dig in. This podcast is brought to you by UF/IFAS Extension Polk County. 

ANNE
Spanish Moss is a very unique and unusual plant that I've heard many myths about, and one is that it's a parasite and you should remove it from your trees because it's killing them. Well, that's false. And we're going to talk a little bit more about that today. And then another myth is that Spanish moss is full of biting insects and you should stay away from it at all costs. And that is also false. Moss hanging from trees rarely harbors any insects at all. And finally, with the name Spanish moss isn't even a moss at all. 

JULIE
So what is Spanish moss? Well, it's an epiphyte. And so you might be asking yourself, well, what is an epiphyte? Unlike a parasitic plant, an epiphyte gets all of its needs met from the sun and the air. They just need another plant to hang on to for support. So Spanish moss is in the Tillandsia genus, which is a member of the Bromeliad family, if you're familiar with plants. There are about 500 species of Tillandsia, and they are the most diverse genera of bromeliads. Most are actually epiphytes. 

ANNE
So is Spanish moss helpful or harmful? Kind of revisiting those myths we just talked about. And because, as Julie just explained, Spanish moss is an epiphyte, it doesn't affect the plant it's attached to at all. It gets its nutrients from rainwater. And so a lot of times we get questions about, you know, people wanting to remove moss from their trees. 

Why, you know, are my trees dying because of the moss? Should I have that moss removed? And it can be really expensive. And usually you find that Spanish moss on trees that are already declining and losing their leaves. And so the moss kind of takes advantage of that sunlight and moves in. So a healthy tree doesn't usually allow for that moss to be quite as plentiful and take over quite as much. 

So usually what happens is you see moss in a tree that's already on decline and then the moss kind of begins to increase. Some people also worry about the weight of moss causing limbs to fall, and that's not likely that the moss is heavy. Again, a normally declining or weak branch will fall on its own, but could have a lot of moss on it. So that moss again, is not contributing to the decline of the tree. 

It's just kind of finding an opportunity and coming in, when we have something that has already been weakened. And you can remove it by hand if you feel like that's something you should do, then go in and pull it out by hand. You can get a ladder and remove low hanging moss quite easily, if that's something that you're interested in doing. 

And for wildlife it is very helpful. So we want to make sure that we encourage moss on trees. It's great for habitat and shelter for butterflies. The zebra longwing nests in it at night and maybe bats during the day. So if you have places in your yard where you can leave moss in trees, good for wildlife, if you can do that. 

Birds also use moss to make nests, particularly those that create a nest that is like a hanging sack. They use the moss to to create that sack. And so again, important to leave moss for a lot of wildlife. So we've talked about the benefits for butterflies, bats and birds. So if you're creating a wildlife habitat in your landscape, moss is important. 

Now chemical removal can be used if you are really worried about the amount of moss in trees. There is a copper herbicide that that can be used. The downside is it may kill the moss, but all that dead moss will remain in the trees. So you'd still have to come in and do hand removal, which can be really hard if you have a big tree. 

You sprayed the whole thing, how are you going to get up there and pull all of that moss out and hiring that out could be really expensive too. It also, the copper can also affect other plants. So just be mindful if if you're spraying that it can, harm things nearby. And honestly the moss will likely return to that tree anyway. 

JULIE
Yeah, Anne, it sounds like it's a lot of work to actually remove it for something that's not actually harming a tree at all, and seems to have many benefits for wildlife. And so when you see Spanish moss in trees, you might start to notice some other things that look similar or maybe don't. And so one thing you might see is ball moss. 

And that's another type of tillandsia, just like Spanish moss. And so we have native tillandsias as well. And they're most likely seen out in nature, maybe when you're on a hike at Circle B Bar or Cold Creek State Park. So next time you're out there, just take a look, look up at the trees and you'll probably see. 

So we have the giant airplant. It's actually endangered. You're going to find it in dry areas. And it's pretty large, 6 to 12 feet. And it can grow on the ground. You're going to see it flower in spring and fall.  

There's also the northern needleleaf. You're going to see this tillandsia in scrub areas, hammocks, swamps. The old plants actually form a ball structure that's about two feet around. 

You'll also, you might notice Bartram’s airplant. Now this is found more frequently than the other two. It's about 4 to 12 inches in size. And you're going to see it in hammocks and pineland.  

And then another tillandsia you might notice are needleleaves. So both the southern and the broad needleleaf can commonly be spotted in swamps or hammocks. They're around 12 inches. And the broad needleleaf is the only bromeliad species known to be only from Florida. So we would say that's endemic, only found in Florida.  

So in addition to ball moss and native tillandsia, you might also notice lichens on trees. And if you're curious and want to know what are lichens, check out our episode on lichens where we talk more about lichens, what exactly they are and how they affect trees and their relationship to trees. 

ANNE
Okay, so we've talked a lot about Spanish moss and we're going to revisit the myths that we talked about at the beginning. So the first myth of it, harming plants, we've determined that that's not the case at all. It's an epiphyte taking what it needs from the atmosphere, and that the issue with it is the trees are already in decline. So we've dispelled that myth.  

The other myth we talked about was that the Spanish moss was full of insects, and that you should stay away from it. And we know that's false, but that it does benefit some insects, butterflies. And so that's actually a helpful thing. And for wildlife habitat our moss is helpful. So those two myths have been dispelled. 

And we know that moss is not in fact damaging our trees. So to end this episode there are some fun facts to learn about Spanish moss. I learned in researching that Spanish moss was once used to fill mattresses and furniture, and was used as packaging material. They do actually still package it up and use it for crafts in some places, so that's always interesting. And we have so much of it available here that we can just go out and harvest what we need for our crafts.  

There also seem to be some really interesting legends and stories from Native Americans about Spanish moss, so you can really read up on all of that as well. For this episode's garden checklist, head out into your yard or into a natural area and take a few minutes to appreciate Spanish moss. 

Think about the first time you saw Spanish moss, how it made you feel, particularly if you're new to the state and you definitely were not used to it growing up. Share Spanish moss photos with us on social media. Additionally, if you see some fun things out while you're hiking, epiphytes or airplants, you can share those with us as well. 

Other people might want to head out and see where they can spot a needleleaf or something in the wild. 

JULIE
For more information on Spanish moss information and workshops available, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension. All resources for this episode are listed in the show notes, including information on Spanish moss, native bromeliads and some of the garden myths discussed. 

ANNE
Thanks for listening to Your Central Florida Yard. We hope this episode has provided you with valuable insights and tips for your gardening journey in this unique part of the state. Your Central Florida Yard is produced by Anne Yasalonis and Julie Schelb. If you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, find our contact information in the show notes. 

This podcast is brought to you by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, an equal opportunity institution. Thank you for listening. And as always, happy gardening. 

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Transcribed by J. Bayer-Fermier - 07/14/24 

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