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Spanish-moss

Tillandsia usneoides

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

19
Modest

Native to Virginia. 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?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

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

Recorded in 9 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

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 Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Tillandsia

  • 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
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Spanish moss

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1S2
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources