Copy permalink to share
Bromeliaceae
Tillandsia

not marked as a favorite taxon Tillandsia usneoides (Linnaeus) Linnaeus. Common name: Spanish-moss, Long-moss, Pastle. Phenology: Feb-Aug. Habitat: Branches of trees, especially in swamps and maritime hammocks, but elsewhere where air humidity is high enough, often even in dry forests (for instance, Tillandsia is abundant on Quercus laevis in an extensive very dry longleaf pine sandhills near Wilmington, NC, which receives frequent fog from the Cape Fear, Brunswick, and Northeast Cape Fear rivers). Distribution: S. MD (historically), se. VA south to s. FL, west to s. AR, TX, and Mexico; West Indies; Central and South America. T. usneoides is the only member of the very large genus Tillandsia to occur north of s. GA.

Glossary (beta!)

ID notes: The epithet ‘usneoides’ refers to its (very general and superficial) resemblance to the common epiphytic lichen Usnea. The inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers are intensely fragrant at night.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, Bah, C, ETx1, F, FNA22, G, K4, Meso6, NcTx, RAB, Tat, Tx, Va, WH3; = Dendropogon usneoides (L.) Raf. — S, S13; Renealmia usneoides Linnaeus. Basionym: Renealmia usneoides L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Tillandsia usneoides - FNA22

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC
  • Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: UPL
  • Great Plains: UPL

Heliophily ⓘ: 5

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image #1 of Tillandsia usneoides© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Tillandsia usneoides© Alan Cressler: Tillandsia usneoides, Clam Creek area, Jekyll Island, Glynn County, Georgia 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
image #4 of Tillandsia usneoides© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Tillandsia usneoides© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
image #6 of Tillandsia usneoides© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Tillandsia usneoides© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Tillandsia usneoides© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #9 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #10 of Tillandsia usneoides© Alan M. Cressler | Original Image ⭷
image #11 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #12 of Tillandsia usneoides© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #13 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #14 of Tillandsia usneoides© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #15 of Tillandsia usneoides© Bruce Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #16 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #17 of Tillandsia usneoides© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #18 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #19 of Tillandsia usneoides© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #20 of Tillandsia usneoidesno rights reserved, uploaded by draingang source CC0 | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Tillandsia usneoides? Let us know here:
  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro: Perennial with inconspicuous flowers, growing in cascading masses in branches of trees, especially in swamps, but elsewhere where air humidity is high enough.

Stems: Stems silvery-gray, string-like, covered with gray scales.

Leaves: Leaves alternate, linear and curling, to 1½ in. long; mostly indistinguishable from stems.

Inforescence:

Flowers: Flowers solitary on short stems from leaf axils, green to yellowish-green, about 1/3 in. long, tubular but with 3 spreading, oblong-lance-shaped petals.

Fruits: Fruit a tan, 3-lobed capsule containing plumed seeds.

Comments: Not parasitic; uses trees as support and absorbs water and some nutrients from air but also photosynthesizes.

Height: to 10 ft.

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description: Perennial with inconspicuous flowers, growing in cascading masses in branches of trees, especially in swamps, but elsewhere where air humidity is high enough.

stems: Stems silvery-gray, string-like, covered with gray scales.

leaves: Leaves alternate, linear and curling, to 1½ in. long; mostly indistinguishable from stems.

inflorescence:

flowers: Flowers solitary on short stems from leaf axils, green to yellowish-green, about 1/3 in. long, tubular but with 3 spreading, oblong-lance-shaped petals.

fruits: Fruit a tan, 3-lobed capsule containing plumed seeds.

comments: Not parasitic; uses trees as support and absorbs water and some nutrients from air but also photosynthesizes.

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range: southeastern United States & Mexico to South America



0 unsaved edits on this page.