Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Spanish Tree Moss 
Name: Una
Status: other
Grade: n/a
Location: FL
Country: USA
Date: Spring 2010
Question:
Does Spanish tree moss kill or create issues with its tree host?


Replies:
Una

Please refer to the following article for a complete description of Spanish Tree Moss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_moss

Please find these paragraphs at this web site to answer your question:

Spanish moss is an epiphyte (a plant that lives upon other plants; from Greek "epi"=upon "phyte"=plant), which absorbs nutrients (especially calcium) and water from the air and rainfall. Spanish moss is colloquially known as "air plant".

It can grow so thickly on tree limbs that it gives a somewhat "gothic" appearance to the landscape, and while it rarely kills the trees it lowers their growth rate by reducing the amount of light to a tree's own leaves. It also increases wind resistance, which can prove fatal to the host tree in a hurricane.

Sincere regards,

Mike Stewart

Spanish moss is an epiphyte, growing on another plant but not dependent on it for food. See:

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Spanish_moss/spanmoss.htm

J Elliott

No, this has been cited as an example of commensalism. See

http://web.fccj.org/~dbyres/mutualism.html

Sincerely,

Anthony R. Brach, PhD
Missouri Botanical Garden
c/o Harvard University Herbaria


Click here to return to the Botany Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory