Tillandsia usneoides
Spanish Moss
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Scientific name:
Tillandsia usneoides L.
Former names: Dendropogon
usneoides (L.) Eaf.
Common names:
Spanish moss.
Status in
Florida: Not listed as
threatened.
Threats to
this plant in Florida: None.
Distribution: From
southeast U.S. (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas) to central
Argentina and Chile (Spanish moss has the broadest geographical range
of any bromeliad).
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Distribution in Florida: All counties in Florida.
Occurrence in Florida:
Common.
Habitat: Hammocks (usually on oaks), pinelands and scrub;
prefers moist, brightly exposed habitats; can withstand extreme
temperature fluctuation and low rainfall.
Description:
Epiphytic; rootless; abundantly branching; plants overlap on tree
branches; plants usually 15-20 cm (6-8 in.) long (up to 45 cm [18 in.]
long); leaves (3-5 cm [1-2 in.] long) not dilated at the base (1-2 mm
[1/16 in.] wide); live leaves covered with gray-green scales; leaves
greener when plant is in good health (gray leaves may indicate moisture
stress or other environmental factors); flowers (usually one per plant)
greenish-yellow and fragrant, lasting about 4 days; seed capsules 15-20
mm (1/2 -3/4 in.) long; seeds (2-23 per capsule) 2-3 mm (1/8 in.) long,
with comate hairs; reproduces by seed and vegetative growth.
Time of
flowering: Spring (mainly April).
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References
Coile NC. 2000. Notes on Florida's Endangered and Threatened
Plants. FDACS/DPI,
Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology, Botany Section.
Contribution No. 38, 3rd ed., Gainesville, FL.
http://www.virtualherbarium.org/EPAC
Florida Natural Areas Inventory.
1997. Matrix of Habitats and Distribution by County of
Rare/Endangered
Species of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory/The Nature
Conservancy.
http://www.fnai.org
Long RW, Lakela O. 1976. A Flora of Tropical Florida.
Banyan Books, Miami. 178 p.
Luther
HE, Benzing DH. 2009. Native Bromeliads of
Florida. Sarasota, FL. Pineapple Press,
Inc.
Ward
DB (ed.). 1979. Plants, Vol. 5. In: Rare and Endangered Biota of
Florida, P.C.H. Pritchard (ed.). University Presses of Florida,
Gainesville, 175 p.
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