I've never seen Spanish Moss but would love to. I guess I need to travel a little more in the US to find it. I'm glad to know a little more about it after reading this post, Janisse. Thank you.
Since most of these bats are not colonial it is really pretty hit or miss. I have usually spotted them emerging at dusk and then staked out the location really early in the morning and watched for returns. They seem to have a bit of site fidelity, so I have had some luck with the returns. The first time I saw it though it was a total random event.
In 1979, my parents made the “obligatory” family Disney trip to Orlando. I was seven then, but what I remember more than Disney was Silver Springs near Ocala, Florida, and its emerald springs feeding the Wekiwa River. I especially remember all the giant oaks and the miles and miles of Spanish moss hanging from them.
This was my only Florida experience, other than a few trips to Jacksonville and the Gator Bowl to watch the Clemson Tigers, until I received a call to move to Lakeland, Florida, in 2011.
Leading up to moving our family of six, my wife, Mary Lucia, and I looked for a house to call home. On each house-hunting trip, we left dismayed. Every neighborhood was a cleared Orange Grove, which died in the freezes of the 1980s.
I remember telling Mary Lucia, “This is not what I remember of Florida.”
Her reply, “What is it you are looking for?”
“Spanish Moss. Where is it?”
Finally, a spirit seemed to call me. It took me down streets near Lake Hollingsworth, where I had yet to tour. And there it was, our street, lined by Live Oaks with branches connecting into a canopy over the road with plenty of Spanish moss.
This has been our home for the past 13 years and, unsurprisingly, the longest we have stayed in the same house since we were married in 1996.
Thank you for sharing this piece and reminding me why I call our home my place.
Thank you! Having lived and spent all my time in the American West, Spanish moss is a novelty for me. I have only seen it in pictures. What an interesting plant; I learned all sorts of things from your photo essay. I imagine it is beautiful, especially to walk under and through the trees as it hangs and waves, just as in the video. Visiting the Spanish moss as well as you would be most wonderful.
When I moved to my new home nestled in a coastal maritime forest some years ago, I learned that one couple on the street was shunned by all the neighbors. First, because they'd moved here from the North. Second because they'd built their house at the edge of the sound, blocking the view. Third, and most important, they'd gathered moss from somewhere and scattered it in the live oaks in their yard. The old neighbors cited all the myths you write about as reasons to hate both the moss and the new neighbors. I am grateful to call these moss-loving northerners my friends.
The northerners wanted it because they thought it was a perfect symbol of southern-ness. Little did they know it would drive such a wedge because their neighbors believed all the misinformation about how awful moss is, thus believing the northerners brought in an invasive species. There are people on the street who have never spoken to them again.
Beautiful photos and appreciation of a special plant. I was only 3 and 4 when we lived in New Orleans. Besides Mardi Gras, Spanish Moss is one of my clearest memories of that time. Both hanging magically from the trees and in another form: The dads wore it for our school’s Halloween haunted house which sent me outside bawling. 😭😅
The battures are my life. I restore steams and wetlands for a living. We had just finished a nice research wetland for Nunez Community College just 3 weeks before Katrina filled it with ‘Alligator Gumbo’.
Jill, make a plan to get to Little St. Simons one day. It's thicker there than anyplace I've seen, or at least it seems that way to me right now. Definitely more than Sapelo.
I have long been enamored with Spanish moss. Once, during a visit to Florida with my family, I tried to wear it like a magnificent boa while we toured the Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park. My father made me take it off, warning that I would get chiggers. Is that just folklore?
I live in central NC and don't have to travel far to experience Spanish moss. There is even a "Spanish Moss Trail" at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park south of Goldsboro. I have seen it as far north as Virginia Beach, Va. I once lived along a river in Tidewater Virginia that was lined with many Bald Cypress and Water Tupelo trees without a single strand of Spanish moss in their branches. There were also no alligators in the river. Not always, but frequently the two are found in the same area. Average annual temperature and humidity appear to be factors as to where Spanish moss is found.
Here's a bit of human history related to Spanish moss that I learned of recently, through a conversation with a friend. Early in the 1900s there was a factory in Jacksonville, Florida where dried Spanish moss was used to stuff mattresses. One day some of the Spanish moss ignited from a kitchen fire and the ensuing flames spread beyond the mattress factory to nearby buildings. Smoke from the fire was seen as far away as Savannah.
Spanish moss is also a favorite roost for red, yellow and Seminole bats in this area. It's fun to watch them back into big clumps and just sort of disappear!
I am headed to Beaufort SC for the rest of the week. Expanding a previous tree survey week. This is a timely article for me! I always call Spanish Moss more fun than a barrel of monkeys. You can guess why. They hang together in much the same way! Thank you.
How lovely! And you're right; I did not know some of those 10 things. Thank you! Do you know anything about the idea that Spanish moss harbors chiggers? Is that a myth?
I have heard that also. But according to a herbal video if you collect the moss that is a least 5 feet off the ground there are no chiggers. Haven't tested this information.
I've never seen Spanish Moss but would love to. I guess I need to travel a little more in the US to find it. I'm glad to know a little more about it after reading this post, Janisse. Thank you.
Since most of these bats are not colonial it is really pretty hit or miss. I have usually spotted them emerging at dusk and then staked out the location really early in the morning and watched for returns. They seem to have a bit of site fidelity, so I have had some luck with the returns. The first time I saw it though it was a total random event.
That’s really cool! I didn’t know anything about Spanish Moss. Thank you for sharing this.
In 1979, my parents made the “obligatory” family Disney trip to Orlando. I was seven then, but what I remember more than Disney was Silver Springs near Ocala, Florida, and its emerald springs feeding the Wekiwa River. I especially remember all the giant oaks and the miles and miles of Spanish moss hanging from them.
This was my only Florida experience, other than a few trips to Jacksonville and the Gator Bowl to watch the Clemson Tigers, until I received a call to move to Lakeland, Florida, in 2011.
Leading up to moving our family of six, my wife, Mary Lucia, and I looked for a house to call home. On each house-hunting trip, we left dismayed. Every neighborhood was a cleared Orange Grove, which died in the freezes of the 1980s.
I remember telling Mary Lucia, “This is not what I remember of Florida.”
Her reply, “What is it you are looking for?”
“Spanish Moss. Where is it?”
Finally, a spirit seemed to call me. It took me down streets near Lake Hollingsworth, where I had yet to tour. And there it was, our street, lined by Live Oaks with branches connecting into a canopy over the road with plenty of Spanish moss.
This has been our home for the past 13 years and, unsurprisingly, the longest we have stayed in the same house since we were married in 1996.
Thank you for sharing this piece and reminding me why I call our home my place.
I've also brewed Spanish moss tea, and there's a New Orleans bartender who uses concentrated Spanish moss tea in a cocktail.
Regarding chiggers, only Spanish moss that has fallen to the ground can harbor the mites. When it's hanging from a tree, it's chigger free.
SERIOUSLY? A Spanish moss cocktail sounds like the bomb.
And while doing research, I did learn that hanging moss doesn't harbor chiggers. Thankfully.
Thank you! Having lived and spent all my time in the American West, Spanish moss is a novelty for me. I have only seen it in pictures. What an interesting plant; I learned all sorts of things from your photo essay. I imagine it is beautiful, especially to walk under and through the trees as it hangs and waves, just as in the video. Visiting the Spanish moss as well as you would be most wonderful.
You HAVE to come South & see Spanish moss for yourself.
I would love to! As well as visit a part of the country I have not seen.
When I moved to my new home nestled in a coastal maritime forest some years ago, I learned that one couple on the street was shunned by all the neighbors. First, because they'd moved here from the North. Second because they'd built their house at the edge of the sound, blocking the view. Third, and most important, they'd gathered moss from somewhere and scattered it in the live oaks in their yard. The old neighbors cited all the myths you write about as reasons to hate both the moss and the new neighbors. I am grateful to call these moss-loving northerners my friends.
That's so odd that the northerners wanted the moss. LOL
The northerners wanted it because they thought it was a perfect symbol of southern-ness. Little did they know it would drive such a wedge because their neighbors believed all the misinformation about how awful moss is, thus believing the northerners brought in an invasive species. There are people on the street who have never spoken to them again.
Beautiful photos and appreciation of a special plant. I was only 3 and 4 when we lived in New Orleans. Besides Mardi Gras, Spanish Moss is one of my clearest memories of that time. Both hanging magically from the trees and in another form: The dads wore it for our school’s Halloween haunted house which sent me outside bawling. 😭😅
LOLOL That is so funny.
We called the storm wash of debris and pollution-laden water Alligator Gumbo.
Just hearing those 2 words makes me feel nauseous.
The battures are my life. I restore steams and wetlands for a living. We had just finished a nice research wetland for Nunez Community College just 3 weeks before Katrina filled it with ‘Alligator Gumbo’.
So so so so sorry.
When I think of Spanish moss I think of Georgia. Savannah, particularly, though Sapelo Island also comes to mind. Thanks!
Jill, make a plan to get to Little St. Simons one day. It's thicker there than anyplace I've seen, or at least it seems that way to me right now. Definitely more than Sapelo.
I have long been enamored with Spanish moss. Once, during a visit to Florida with my family, I tried to wear it like a magnificent boa while we toured the Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park. My father made me take it off, warning that I would get chiggers. Is that just folklore?
It doesn't have chiggers if hanging in the tree but if it is on ground where the mites live, then yes, you could get chiggers.
I second this.
I live in central NC and don't have to travel far to experience Spanish moss. There is even a "Spanish Moss Trail" at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park south of Goldsboro. I have seen it as far north as Virginia Beach, Va. I once lived along a river in Tidewater Virginia that was lined with many Bald Cypress and Water Tupelo trees without a single strand of Spanish moss in their branches. There were also no alligators in the river. Not always, but frequently the two are found in the same area. Average annual temperature and humidity appear to be factors as to where Spanish moss is found.
Here's a bit of human history related to Spanish moss that I learned of recently, through a conversation with a friend. Early in the 1900s there was a factory in Jacksonville, Florida where dried Spanish moss was used to stuff mattresses. One day some of the Spanish moss ignited from a kitchen fire and the ensuing flames spread beyond the mattress factory to nearby buildings. Smoke from the fire was seen as far away as Savannah.
What a story. Thank you, Greg. And THANK YOU for the birthday gift. It arrived safe & sound. You're the best.
Spanish moss is also a favorite roost for red, yellow and Seminole bats in this area. It's fun to watch them back into big clumps and just sort of disappear!
How can I see something like that?
I am headed to Beaufort SC for the rest of the week. Expanding a previous tree survey week. This is a timely article for me! I always call Spanish Moss more fun than a barrel of monkeys. You can guess why. They hang together in much the same way! Thank you.
I can only imagine monkeys in Spanish moss. And remember when St. Catherine's Island had monkeys?
How lovely! And you're right; I did not know some of those 10 things. Thank you! Do you know anything about the idea that Spanish moss harbors chiggers? Is that a myth?
I have always heard the same.
I have heard that also. But according to a herbal video if you collect the moss that is a least 5 feet off the ground there are no chiggers. Haven't tested this information.
That makes sense, as I've read that chiggers mostly live in ankle-high grasses.
I just read that yes, it harbors chiggers. I found that kudzu can, as well.
Kudzu too! Wow!