Spanish moss
 

Does anybody know why Spanish moss clings only to live oak trees and apparently to no other trees? It can't be just that it looks pretty.

weird..this has been posted for almost 12 hours and no one knows the answer?????? hard to believe. I thought the people on TOTV would know this one!!!

I went to that old source better known as Wikipedia and copied/pasted part of the post from there and here's what it said.....

"Spanish moss is an epiphyte which absorbs fagss (especially calcium) and water from the air and rainfall. Spanish moss is colloquially known as "air plant".

While it rarely kills the trees it lowers their growth rate by reducing the amount of light to a tree's own leaves. It also increases wind resistance, which can prove fatal to the host tree in a hurricane.

In the southern U.S., the plant seems to show a preference of growth on Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) or Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) because of these trees' high rates of foliar mineral leaching (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus) providing an abundant supply of nutrients to the plant,[4] but it can also colonize other tree species such as Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), crape-myrtles (Lagerstroemia spp.), other oaks, and even pines.

Spanish moss shelters a number of creatures, including rat snakes and three species of bats. One species of jumping spider, Pelegrina tillandsiae, has been found only on Spanish moss."

I did NOT know about the critters that can live in it! Euuuuwwww! We have an oak the developer planted in our front yard! But by the time it's large and stately, we'll no longer care as we won't be on this earth!

Thanks! Good answer. Not happy about the snakes and spiders.

Now let me get this straight.

It is an epiphyte that absorbs fagss?

That doesn't sound politically correct.:D


I just read the article in Wikipedia and that is exactly what it says and in another part it said it is an angiosperm.

Curiouser and curiouser.

I have heard it called a parasite.

That moss also lives on the magnolia tree and other bushes in my yard. So, it is not limited to the live oaks.

An epiphyte that absorbs fagss . . . that's as clear as mud! :shrug:

It says that in Wikipedia in the Spanish Moss article. We BOTH read it there.

I don't understand it either and I kinda like to read scientific stuff.

Guess it is neither spanish nor moss.......just an air plant.:D

:1rotfl:

Spanish Moss
 

I know one thing about Spanish Moss, a word to the wize, you don't want to use it indoors, its full of very small bugs.

Villages was removing some of it
 

I love to ride the golf cart path near Buena Vista and Stillwater and Old Mill Run - all those gorgeous live oaks with Spanish Moss. On 2 different days saw workers with (very) long poles taking down and hauling away some of the Spanish Moss. That seems to support the Wiki report that too much of it is a bad thing.

We have a live oak (builder planted) in the backyard of our CYV, at a perfect spot to block late afternoon sun into our lanai. Seems like about 1/3 of the builder planted oak trees here have really taken off, including ours. Others now look about half as big, and these were all planted at the same time and were about the same size.

We just finished digging (ourselves) a serpentine border all around our fences/wall and found a really extensive root system in just 4-1/2 years. We know we damaged some of it, but tried to avoid cutting thru too many roots. It's now a haven for songbirds as well - so far we've seen bluebirds (on the fence, not in the tree), mockingbirds, mourning doves, cardinals, house finches, goldfinches, grackles, wrens and possible a pine or palm warbler, not sure.

Also saw a hawk or kestrel - happened so fast I couldn't be sure - swoop down and fly off with a mourning dove, feathers flying everywhere. I had a hummingbird feeder up for a while last fall but never saw any. Anyone see them here? If so, what part of TV?

Spanish Moss
 

I know one litttle diddy about spanish moss. During the civil war the doctors used mos to suture up wounds:BigApplause: Wow bet your all impressed:smiley:

Did not know that. Wonder if it had little bugs in it?

I saw Spanish Moss hanging from pine trees on the old road between Tavares and Mount Dora. Was so impressed I made my husband go that way.

Ohio Girl, haven't seen any hummingbirds either. We also had a hawk who captured a dove and enjoyed the feast on the table on our outside patio.

You can safely use spanish moss indoors as long as you
 

run it for a few seconds in the microwave. Kills all the bugs and retains it's decorative appearance.

btk

YUCK......put that in my microwave?? NOT!

Spanish Moss was the reason for the first automobile recalls in the U.S. When Henry Ford came down to St. Augustine to visit his buddy Flager, Henry came up with the idea of using the moss for stuffing in the car seats. Well he didn't know about the critters but the owners of the newly stuffed Ford car seats certainly found out about them pretty quickly. They cars had to recalled so the moss could be removed and replaced with moss that had been boiled!

Spanish Moss
 

...........and that is why there were referred to as Ford buggies later to be referred to as dune buggies later to be referred to s moon buggies later to be referred to as......sorry didn't slepp well last night:(

Rubicon.

You ain't right.

:1rotfl:

I heard once, they used to stuff mattresses with it.
We all probably are sitting on millions of dollars in our back yards with it, watch someone come up with a really credible use for it.

Years ago there was abundant Spanish moss hanging from oak trees in Houston but no more. My guess is that pollution gradually overtook it. I'm happy that the air quality here is good and that the Spanish moss thrives.

Spanish Moss is great as a potting medium to grow orchids, and you can also use it (once it is microwaved or boiled) to put on top of plants in containers to hide double-potting or as a mulch.

We toke an overnighter to Savanna and took a trolley tour of the city. The tour person pointing out points of interest mentioned that Spanish Moss is full of chiggers and that during the Civil War, the Yankee soldiers thought it would make a good bedding material until they tried it. By the way, it was a trip worth taking that isn't that far away. Beautiful riverfront and lots of history.

:yuck:Chiggers!

Don't know if anyone cares to know this little bit of trivia and have no idea who discovered this, but on more than one occasion we were told by some of the natives of Hawaii that Sanish Moss and pineapples are in the same family.

Further support of getdul's statement:

http://www.spanishmossmagazine.com/d....php?id=539843

Yes folks - there really IS a 'Spanish Moss Magazine', it seems! :)

Bill

We have some mighty smart people on this forum.:thumbup:

I am still pondering over that quote from Wikipedia.:censored: