SPANISH MOSS
It's a cold, foggy, cloudy day in the Glen and I'm thinking of warmer climes today.
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This is Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) shown here growing on a Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) somewhere in Florida. But it is truly neither Spanish (it's native to Mexico, Central/South America and Caribbean areas) nor moss (it's an epiphytic Bromeliad which makes it first cousin to a pineapple).
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It is not parasitic...it just hangs on the trees and uses them for support. It's a true flowering plant and is photosynthetic extracting water from the air and rain as well as minerals, etc. from airborne dust particles and the outer bark of the host.
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It does grow so prolifically, in some cases, that it can interfere with the photosynthetic activity of its host plant thus slowing its growth.
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Best in Large.
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