PlantFiles: Ball Moss
Tillandsia recurvata

Floridian, PolarBear and Mono have pretty much covered it. In Illinois it just barely appears, so it does not usually acheive the dense populations the others have issues with. Just one detail not mentioned is that Tillandsia recurvata is a nitrogen fixing plant, so if you do harvest it from your tree, use it for fertilizer.

While backpacking in the Chisos Mts of Big Bend NP, we took an exploratory look up a side canyon. A wet overhanging cliff had hundreds of this unsual plants which I photographed for later identification. I can only conclude that Ball Moss is not just arboreal. Picture submitted..

San Antonio, Tx.
Those of us with oak trees that are covered with ball moss hate this plant. The fact that heavy infestations keep the sunlight from reaching the leaves, the leaves die and the branches that are covered die. The smaller branches break off constantly with the wind, rain (the moss becomes wet and heavy) and especially squirrels running and jumping on them. Many quite large branches have completely died by being smothered by the moss or because the limbs above are so heavily covered that the sunlight cannot reach the lower limbs. I will post a photo of dead limbs covered in the moss. Now it is spreading to my crepe myrtles and killing their limbs as well. To have my 3 oak trees sprayed to kill the moss, all of the dead limbs cut out and a lot of the ball moss picked off will cost me over $2500. The ball moss must be sprayed at least 2 years in a row for it to comp;etely die. Then, it will reinfest my trees because of all the other oak trees that are infested in my neighorhood. After each heavy rain or wind, I have to pick up dead limbs and ball moss from my yard. My neigborhood association has told me to trim all the dead limbs because they are "unsightly". I don't have the money to do so and I have trimmed all the ones I can reach. I spend hours pulling ball moss from my trees and now it is growing on my shrubs as well. It has ruined the beauty of my trees and in my opinion is harmful.

Updated 6/02/05 ... the huge crepe myrtle shown in my 3rd photo was taken over by the ball moss. Over half of its limbs have died because I couldn't remove the ball moss from them. It is in such terrible shape that it will need to be cut down by 2/3s. Hopefully, it will come back out nicely. I have just spent all day removing ball moss and dead twigs and limbs from a smaller crepe myrtle that I am able to reach up into when on a ladder and using a long pole. I should have taken a photoof all of the ball moss and debri before I removed it from my lawn. Yesterday, I spent all morning picking up ball moss and dead twigs to which it was attached from my flowerbeds and lawn after a strong storm passed through.

The accurate therm for this plant is "epiphytic" ("epi=on, "phytum" plant, a plant that lives on another plant). It only uses trees as a support, and doesn´t leech anything from it at all, besides the dust and rotten leaves/bark on its surface. It causes no harm to the hosting tree at all, and there´s no reason to eliminate this plant, or any kind of bromeliad from trees, unless it´s really taking the tree´s appearance down

While Ball Moss can technically be classified parasitic, it is only a structural parasite, meaning it needs to attach to a host, but draws no nutrients from that host. Ball Moss does NOT kill trees via starvation. While it may be considered unsightly, the only real detrimental effect it has upon trees is the possible retardation of new shoot growth dependent upon its proliferation. (Added weight & blocked sunlight to underbranches are additional minor considerations)

Ball Moss can grow in drier areas. I have always heard it was a parisite. I do know it is invassive and can kill a tree. Prefers oaks. Is plentiful in San Antonio, Tx. and in hill country, and can be damaging. I am forturate it is not plentiful in this part of Tx., northeast of Bryan/College Station, Tx.

Not a moss but a true flowering plant related to the pineapple. An epiphyte that gets its nutrients from the atmosphere.