Spanish Moss

Description:

Not a moss or lichen! Gray with a greenish base. Hairy slender stems with curling and or curved leaves. Grows in large masses, draping off of trees where it is well established.

Habitat:

Grows on trees, prefers Southern Live Oak, Quercus virginiana (the trees in my photos) and Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, but can be found on other trees as well. It thrives in humid, warm areas. It can propogate via seed or vegetatively (small piece of the plant breaks off and starts growing somewhere else).

Notes:

Native to the southern US down to Argentina.