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Spanish-moss

Tillandsia usneoides

Found in Coastal Plain hammocks; swamps; dry forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

23
Good

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
10 inches–3 feet
Spread
6 inches–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
February to August
Fruiting season
Fall to winter

Recorded in 67 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 147 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Tillandsia

  • Dahana atripennisBlack-Winged Dahana
  • Epimorius testaceellusBromeliad Pod Borer Moth
  • Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
  • Xylesthia pruniramiellaClemens' Bark Moth, Speckled Xylesthia
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Bromeliaceae
Hardiness
Zones 8a–11b
Flower color
Green
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
White-gray
Fruit begins
Fall
Fruit ends
Winter

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Spanish moss

Conservation status

Florida rankS5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Sources