Monday, February 6, 2012

Spanish Moss

I couldn't decide which picture I liked the best so you get 4 of my favorite Spanish Moss pictures.
The picture above is one of my all time favorites.  I call it a Spanish Moss Tree!  Actually it is a Crepe Myrtle tree in the winter covered with Spanish moss!  All of these pictures are much better if you click on them and enlarge them.
Above - I called that on 'Dripping Moss'.  I love the way it drips right into the water.
The shadows of this one make it very interesting.

Do you see the gentle lady in the background, framed by the moss?  I will have a picture of her next.

Interesting information on Spanish Moss - Spanish-moss, also called Florida moss, long moss, or graybeard, is not a true moss. It is an epiphytic plant, which grows on another plant, but does not rely on the host plant for nutrients; epiphytes make their own food. While the plant is not parasitic, it can sometimes damage the host tree by over-shading the leaves, thus reducing photosynthesis, or by weighing down and breaking the branches.

The plants have very tiny seeds that are dispersed by wind and birds. Birds may also carry off small fragments that easily reproduce new plants.


Spanish-moss was harvested for years as a stuffing material in automobile seats, furniture, and mattresses. The moss-stuffed mattresses were said to be cooler and more comfortable due to the natural insulating properties of the plant. This was especially important in pre-air-conditioning days. Moss pickers were hired and used long poles to pull the stringy masses off the trees. The plants were then dried and cured before being used.

Information copied from this site.

1 comment:

  1. Spanish moss always reminds me of my Grandmother. She lived in SW Louisiana and we knew we were close to her house when we'd start seeing it in the trees. One of the houses we lived in in Oklahoma had Spanish Moss in the walls for insulation. I guess someone from the south had lived in it when it was built in the 20's.

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