When you visit Savannah, one of the many things that will strike you in this Southern town is the natural beauty of Spanish moss.
Just what is that beautiful lacy stuff hanging down from the trees of Savannah?
Well, native Americans used to call it "tree hair", and for good reason. It has small thread-like leaves that are connected to tiny strands of black, hair-like fibers. When the early French arrived on the scene, they thought it reminded them of the long black beards of their early Spanish counterparts in the New World, and so they called it Spanish beard. (the Spaniards, in turn, called it French hair!) The name eventually was changed to Spanish moss.
But is it moss that's hanging down from the tree branches? Not at all. Spanish moss, more formally known as Tillandsia usneoides, is actually an epiphyte - a plant that leans on other plants to grow. It is not a parasite, but rather uses the support and the surface of trees in order to expose its little strands to moisture and air to get its nutrients. It is able to absorb from dew, mist, fog, or rain. It can get so heavy with moisture after a rainstorm that it's been known to break tree branches from its weight. Also known as an air plant, because it doesn't have any roots, Spanish moss will only be found hanging from tree branches; you will never see it growing around mailboxes, vines, trellises, or on the sides of houses.
Spanish moss was utilized by early colonists as a caulk for their homes, by mixing it with mud. Over the years, it's been used as a feed for livestock, stuffing for car cushions and mattresses, packing material, even its extracts have been experimented with for diabetes treatment. Today it is mainly used in handicrafts and the floral industry.
Spanish moss flowers have a mild collective fragrance, which is most noticeable in the night air of a beautiful Savannah evening, between April and July.
Join us for the Great Slow Travel Gathering, April 4, 5, & 6, 2008, in Savannah, Georgia!
Jan~ you are so right! We used to play dress up with it... poor children without TV to amuse us back in the day. (It makes great witches hair or a bridal veil) but you itch for ever!
Chiggers, huh! I've seen chiggers mentioned in several examples of Southern literature and I knew they were bugs, but now I also know where to find them. I'm scratching just typing this.
Believe it or not, but I've never seen a chigger, and yet have suffered hundreds of bites in my lifetime. They show up as little red whelps, similar to mosquito bites that itch like heck!
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