SPANISH MOSS—

Armed with my coffee and camera I made an interesting discovery while exploring our Florida host, Ted Kmet’s, back yard that morning.

Spanish Moss is not attached to the tree upon which it grows.

It is neither parasitic nor symbiotic. It simply hangs there in its near gossamer splendor and plucks its moisture and nutrients from the air.

I discovered this while examining a particularly attractive specimen that was virtually glowing at eye level; back lit by the early morning sun. I carefully unwound its tentacle-like growth from the tree branch and noted it simply lives there in a gentle embrace.

Scientists call it an epiphyte, or, air breathing plant.

It uses its long, thin, scaly stems to wrap around the host tree and dangles from the branches. The leaves are covered with cup-like, permeable scales that “catch” its food from the air and from pockets on the surface of the host.

It appears like a pendulous, silver geometry of spider webs in the host trees; a slow-motion choreograph as it swirls on the morning’s soft wind.

The moss plants reproduce by their tiny seeds being dispersed by the wind and birds. Small fragments of the plant also easily reproduce themselves.

It was harvested for years and used as a stuffing material in automobile seats, furniture and mattresses. Today, it is a popular mulch and used widely in the floral industry. It is sometimes draped along fences to provide privacy screening.

In the large photo above a huge, live oak tree hosts a silent convention of the moss plants on Ted’s neighborhood street while the inset photo shares the plant’s exquisite detail in a close-up view.

I remember first encountering this visual delicacy when visiting St. Augustine those many years ago.

To this day, sight of the moss bathes my consciousness with warm shivers of tropical dreams.
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Still curious? See www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4th/Spanish_moss/spanmoss.htm