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California's 'Spanish Moss'

>From: Bjarcia@aol.com
>Subject: Re: Plants along beaches
>Sender: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 22:45:32 -0500 (EST)
>
> sheesh, britain is just full of woody plant parasites, isnt it?:) The only
> parasite the trees here get are Armillaria ( oak root fungus, kills
> un-naturally watered Quercus agrifolias) and mistletoe. We do have spanish
> moss but that isnt a parasite and is a tillandsia.
>
>
>
>
>
> BJ

BJ -

I tried to research this to get the specifics, but I don't have the
appropriate references on hand.  The 'Spanish Moss' common along the
California coastal area, usually seen hanging in romantic, grey
drapings from our native Oaks, is not the same as the Tillandsia of
the same common name which is seen in the humid southern US.  Ours
is actually a lichen, and if you examine it closely, you'll see that
it is indeed very lichen-like in character.  I do not have the latin
name for this species, but I thought it was worth pointing out.  As
our air is relatively very dry, this lichen manages to fill this
niche (living mostly on occasional fog and moist ocean air) better
that the Bromeliad Tillandsia.  The Tillandsia is grown by some in
the area, but requires a misting system to increase the humidity and
I'm not sure its hardy enough to overwinter.

My wife and I have for years collected some of the native Spanish
Moss lichen to use as decoration for our home interior during the
holiday season.  A late fall outing with the kids would usually
include this activity, as well as misteltoe harvest, gathering of
buckeyes & acorns, Teasel (a European weed) and others.  All would
be incorporated into wreaths, bowers, and other seasonal displays.

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    http://www.dla.ucop.edu/sao
 Oakland, California  94610-1459    h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 (510) 987-0577                     'a garden suited to its purpose'
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