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Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is an air-feeding plant or epiphyte found mainly upon cypress, gum trees, oaks, elms, and pecan trees in South Louisiana and Florida. It is not a parasite and does not live off the trees upon which it grows, nor is it harmful to the trees. It has been noticed, however, that its presence on pecan trees tends to reduce the yield, owing, no doubt, to the fact that to some extent it shadows the buds of the fruit.

When the French first came to Louisiana they asked the Indians what this hair-like plant was and were told that it was "tree hair," or 'Itla-okla," as they called it. The French thought it reminded them of the long black beards of the Spanish explorers who had come before them, and advised the Indians that a better name was "Spanish Beard, " or "Barbe Espagnol. " The Spaniards, consider- ing this a term of ridicule, asserted that a more appropriate name was "Cabello Francés," or "French Hair." The Indians thought "Barbe Espagnol" sounded better and for many years Louisiana moss was referred to only as "Spanish Beard." But this name did not last; it seemed too ridiculous. The accepted name became Spanish moss.   

Spanish moss is not propagated by seeds but by fragments or festoons. These fragments are carried from tree to tree by birds and the winds. Birds frequently use strands of moss in building their nests, and in this way distribute the festoons. Evergreen trees seldom have moss on them, for the green leaves tend to ward off the festoons carried by the winds or dropped by birds. In the fall and winter when the trees lose their leaves, fragments of moss attach themselves to the bark. A moss which springs from a festoon or fragment grows to a great length, often reaching 10 to 20 feet. In the early summer this plant produces a very small yellow flower, hardly visible to the naked eye. Moisture and dust from the air produce all the nourishment necessary to keep the plant alive and growing. The plant absorbs water readily; it is, in fact, about twenty-five percent water.