This plant is so easy to grow it gets its nutrients and water straight from the air!
In nature Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) it is an epiphyte, so it grows on top of other trees.
However, it doesn’t normally hurt a tree unless it gets so thick that it blocks the sunlight out.
Perfect for you non-green thumbed people out there—it can be grown in your home placing it in decorative containers or hangings and just spritzing with water occasionally (or dunking in water). In humid environments, no spritzing needed, it can just grow itself!
In nurseries it is sometimes sold as an “air plant”, though it is not a moss, but rather a relative of pineapples—a bromeliad.
This plant has a long history of use for a number of things. Today it is mostly used for its decorative nature and used as a sort of mossy covering in pots or in arts & crafts; however, it has also been used for a building insulation, packing material or stuffing in various products, mulch, in swamp coolers, and in the early 1900s it was used for the padding in car seats.
Medicinally, Spanish Moss has been used by Native Americans in the southern US as a tea for fevers, and in South America for childbirth and for rheumatism.
There are also reports and some scientific evidence it may be good for diabetes, as well as for skin care. Confirmed activities include hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumor.
Currently, there is interest and research on this plant for its possible use as a “biomonitor” for air quality in urbanized areas. As the plant is made to absorb nutrients through specialized scales on its leaves, poor air quality makes changes to the plant’s metabolism and scales which can then be analyzed, leading to air analysis.
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*This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.