Does Spanish Moss Grow in Clumps?

Description

• Although Spanish moss looks like a clump of stringy material, it actually consists of skinny branches with small leaves. The entire plant is covered with overlapping scales. It wraps its long thin stems around plants or other surfaces for support. Inconspicuous fragrant greenish flowers bloom in the spring followed by ½- to ¾-inch-long seedpods. Each pod contains up to 23 seeds, which are spread by the wind and birds.

Growth

• Spanish moss is an epiphyte, a plant that grows on other plants but does not get nutrients from the support plant. It does not have any roots to take up nutrients and moisture from the soil. Its scales are cupped to collect water and nutrients from debris that falls into the scales and from the air. It prefers a moist bright environment, but can survive a drought by going dormant. Gray leaves indicate the plant is stressed by lack of moisture or some other environmental cause, while greener leaves indicate a healthy plant.

Tree Damage

• Spanish moss does not take nutrients or water from the trees where it lives and it does not kill trees. A healthy tree grows faster than moss. A sick or damaged tree grows slower and has fewer leaves so the Spanish moss grows more and may shade out the remaining leaves. A heavy load of moss can break the limbs of a tree.

Uses

• Indians packed wet moss into their dugout canoes to prevent them from drying out and splitting. They made fire arrows by wrapping dried moss around arrow shafts and setting it on fire. They used the inner fibers to make cloth and ropes. Later, people used dried Spanish moss as stuffing for mattresses, furniture and automobile seats. They also packed it into the walls of buildings for insulation. It is still occasionally used in upholstery and as a packing material. The most common uses of Spanish moss now are in floral arrangements and as mulch in the landscape.