Air Plants

Ball Moss

When the time of year arrives when leaves begin to fall and the landscape starts to appear a bit more barren, some things become more noticeable, even though they were present all along.  One such thing is epiphytes, or plants that grow harmlessly upon another plant (such as a tree), and derive moisture and nutrients from the air.  The word epiphyte comes from the Greek ‘epi’ meaning ‘upon’ and ‘phyton’ meaning ‘plant.’  Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily negatively affect their host.  They are also called ‘air plants’ since they do not root in soil.  In central Texas, the most common epiphytes native to our area are Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata) and Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides).  

Members of the Bromeliad or Pineapple family, neither of these plants are real mosses, but true plants with flowers and seeds.  Ball Moss is a scurfy herb with narrow leaves forming small, grayish ball-like clusters on the branches of deciduous trees.  In North America, it is native from Florida to southern Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, with a disjunct population in central Louisiana.  Slender, pale violet flowers appear on long bracts from June to August.  Ball Moss grows well in areas with low light, little airflow, and high humidity, which is why it is often found on shade trees in the South.  It photosynthesizes its own food by receiving water vapor from the air, nitrogen from bacteria, and other minerals from windblown dust.  Wind is also the main method of Ball Moss seed dispersal, and its plentiful seeds are armed with fine, straight hairs that cling well to wet or rough surfaces such as bark.

Spanish Moss

Generally growing upon larger trees such as Southern Live Oak and Bald Cypress, Spanish Moss forms a cascading mass of slender, scaly gray leaves.  These scales help the plant absorb water and nutrients, mostly from the minerals naturally leached from the foliage of its host tree.   Its specific name ‘usenoides’ means ‘resembling Usnea’, which is also known as Beard Lichen, but this plant is not a lichen either.  It grows in chain-like fashion to form hanging structures up to 20 feet in length, and bears tiny whitish-green flowers from April to June. Its primary range is the southeastern US, but is found as far north as Virginia, and it propagates both by seed and vegetatively with fragments carried by the wind to neighboring tree limbs.  Spanish Moss has been used for various purposes, including building insulation, packing material, and mattress stuffing.  It is still in use today for arts and crafts, and even in the manufacture of evaporative or swamp coolers.  These coolers contain thick pads of Spanish Moss that are pumped with water, with the cooling effect of evaporation caused by a fan that pulls air through the pad and into the building. 

Little evidence exists that Ball Moss 

harms the health of a tree.

There is a common misconception that these epiphytes are parasites, and that they harm the trees that serve as their hosts.  While trees that are heavily infested with these plants can have increased wind resistance and result in fallen limbs, there is little evidence among the botanist community that a reasonable presence of these plants have a noticeable effect on the growth or health of the tree.  In fact, the presence of these air plants serves as a benefit to many forms of wildlife by harboring small insects that provide food, supplying nesting material, and serving as shelter from the outside elements.

Fields of Gold

Cooler temperatures and shorter days mark the onset of autumn, and the golden colors of the season begin to surround us.  Among the amber and scarlet hues making an appearance in the landscape, one cannot help but notice three of our most common fall-blooming native plants: Goldeneye (Viguiera dentata), Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida),  and Prairie Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis).  

A member of the sunflower family, Goldeneye is a bushy, drought-tolerant, multi-branched plant that tends to grow in colonies, providing rich swaths of golden color along our roadsides and in open areas.  It has narrow leaves and numerous 1.5 inch daisy-like flowers at the tips of long, slender stalks.  Growing to 3 feet tall in full sun or up to 6 feet tall in partial shade, this plant is native not only to Texas but to Arizona and New Mexico as well.  It prefers relatively dry, partially shaded areas such as woodland edges and open prairies, and in Mexico is also known by the common name Chimalacate.  



Goldeneye

The mid to late fall blooms of Goldeneye not only provide seasonal color, but provide for native wildlife as well.  Goldeneye is a larval food plant for both the Bordered Patch and Cassius Blue butterflies, and if spent flower stalks are left to stand through most of the winter, they will provide good seed forage for Lesser Goldfinches and other birds.  Infusions of this plant are still used today as an antibacterial treatment for baby rash.  


Often called Creeping-oxeye or Hairy Wedelia, Zexmenia is a small shrub 8 inches to 2.5 feet tall, that blooms continuously from May to November, although often most profusely once the weather has cooled.  The woody stems and rough-hairy green foliage give rise to showy, 1 inch wide butterscotch-orange flowers on long stems that extend vertically above the pointy-lobed leaves. Hardy, long-lived, long-blooming, and non-aggressive, this drought-tolerant plant appreciates full sun and dry, well-drained soils.  It is another host plant for the Bordered Patch butterfly, a nectar source for many species of butterflies, and its seeds are a favorite food of bobwhite quail.

Zexmenia

Prairie Goldenrod, also called Gray Goldenrod or Field Goldenrod, is a slender-stemmed plant 1.5 to 2 feet tall, that blooms from June through October.  A member of the aster family, it has thin, coarsely-toothed leaves and yellow flowers that are borne on the upper side of hairy stalks, arching out and downward to create a vase-shaped flower cluster.  Individual plants bloom at various times, extending the flowering season, but they are most noticeable in fall, especially when paired with purple Gayfeather and red Autumn Sage.  An excellent addition to a wildflower meadow or a sunny garden, Prairie Goldenrod is naturally found in dry, open woods and upland prairies, and does well in full sun to part shade. A carefree plant, it can become invasive if left alone, but is also easily controlled.  



Prairie Goldenrod

Of special value to bees and butterflies for its pollen and nectar, and to several species of finches for its seeds, Prairie Goldenrod was also used by Native Americans to treat jaundice and kidney disorders, and as a wash for burns and skin ulcers.  The Navajo burned the leaves as incense, and used the seeds for food.



As you wander along roadways and pathways this fall, admire these fields of gold that delight not only our senses, but provide a bountiful harvest for our wild neighbors as well!