Spanish Moss

 Scientific name: Tillandsia usneoides 

Abundance: plentiful
What: leaf strands
How: raw, cooked
Where: humid areas
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: high in antioxidants

Medicinal Uses: good for wrapping wounds, reduces blood sugar levels, slows down infections due to bacterialstatic compounds

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are densely packed and arranged in a rosette pattern, forming a cascading, hanging structure.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are linear and slender, measuring up to 2 inches long and about 0.1 inches wide.

Leaf Venation: The leaves have parallel venation, with veins running straight and parallel from the base to the tip of the leaf. However, these veins are extremely small and very hard to see.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are entire, smooth, and lack any serrations or lobes.

Leaf Color: The leaves are gray-green, often appearing silvery due to the presence of trichomes (fine hairs).

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and tubular, measuring about 0.5 inches long and 0.2 inches wide.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically pale green or yellowish-green, sometimes with a bluish tinge.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry capsule, approximately 1 inch long and 0.25 inches wide.

Seed: The seeds are tiny and have long, silky hairs attached, which aid in wind dispersal. Each seed measures about 0.1 inches in length.

Stem: The stems are thin, wiry, and flexible, often appearing tangled and covered in trichomes.

Hairs: The entire plant is covered with fine, grayish trichomes (hairs), which help in absorbing moisture from the air.

Height: The plant can grow to lengths of up to 20 feet when hanging, with individual strands varying in length.


Trees covered in Spanish moss




Closeup of the strand-like leaves. Note the fine hairs


Texas distribution, attributed to the wildly inaccurate U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties with similar ecosystems or if used in landscaping.

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Spanish moss is a plant in the bromeliad family, same as pineapple...but alas it does NOT taste like pineapple. If you were ever eating some celery and wished that it was even more fibrous but less moist, you are in for a treat. Spanish moss tastes very similar to celery but is a bit more chewy. With that in mind, chop it up and use it in celery dishes such as dressing/stuffing, added to soups, mixed with peanut butter, or drop it in a Bloody Mary. I enjoy adding the chopped Spanish moss to cup-a-soup and cup-a-noodle things where you add boiling water.

The edible portion are the long, gray, branching strands. There's nothing toxic about the thin, brown flower stalks, but they are even tougher than the strand-leaves and rather (in my opinion) undesirable to eat.

Besides food, Spanish moss has a long history of being used as bedding, animal fodder, and combined with clay to make bricks and plasters. It can also be stuffed inside clothing as insulation against the cold. If its used as bedding or insulation, consider hanging it over a smoky fire for a while to drive out blood-sucking chiggers who like to make it their home.

This plant isn't a parasite, it just finds trees to be a handy place to hang from while it absorbs water from rain & dew, and nutrients from dust. This sort of plant is called an epiphyte, for those who care about such things.


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