Flora of North America species comparison

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Tillandsia usneoides

Tillandsia

black-moss, long-moss, mousse, mousse espagnole, Spanish-moss

airplant
Habit Plants pendent in long festoons, flowering to 300 cm. Herbs, usually epiphytic, stemless to long caulescent.
Stems

elongate.

Leaves

4–8, 2-ranked, often twisted or contorted, gray to silver-gray, 1.5–3 × 0.1–0.2 cm, densely grayish-scaly;

sheath pale, narrowly elliptic, not inflated, not forming pseudobulb, 0.2–0.4 cm wide;

blade filiform, succulent, margins involute to nearly tubular, apex acute.

mostly many-ranked, rosulate, or occasionally 2-ranked and/or laxly arranged;

blade linear to triangular or ligulate, margins entire, trichomes usually conspicuous.
Inflorescences

scape concealed within leaf sheath, appearing scapeless, pendent with shoot, ± 1 mm diam.

central, 1–many-flowered, 2-ranked;

floral bracts mostly broad, conspicuous, rachis covered or exposed at anthesis.
Flowers

1, inconspicuous, apparently sessile;

sepals free, ovate, not keeled, 0.6–0.7 cm, thin, veined, apex acute, surfaces glabrous;

corolla spreading, petals spreading, yellow-green, elliptic, to 1 cm;

stamens included;

stigma included, simple-erect.

bisexual;

sepals distinct or adaxial pair connate, usually symmetric;

petals distinct;

stamens included or exserted, filaments free;

ovary superior.
Fruits

to 2.5 cm.

Capsules

cylindric, dehiscent.
Seeds

with basal, white, plumose appendage.
Floral

bracts enveloping flower, erect, green, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), ovate, not keeled, 0.4–0.5 cm, thin-leathery, apex acute, surfaces densely grayish-scaly, venation even to slight.

Tillandsia usneoides

Tillandsia
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Epiphytic, occasionally on fences, telephone lines
Elevation 0–300 m (0–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Widespread in the Neotropics
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 550 (13 species and 2 described natural hybrids in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves 2-ranked; inflorescence 1–2(–3)-flowered.
→ 2
1. Leaves many-ranked; inflorescence more than 3-flowered.
→ 3
2. Stems elongate, plants forming pendent festoons; inflorescence reduced to single, apparently sessile flower, scape concealed within leaf sheath; petals yellow-green
T. usneoides
2. Stems short, plants densely clustered to form spheric masses; inflorescence of (1–)2(–3) flowers, scape conspicuous; petals violet
T. recurvata
3. Floral bracts spreading and/or small, exposing most of rachis at anthesis.
→ 4
3. Floral bracts imbricate, broad, covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis.
→ 5
4. Leaves 10–20, spirally twisted, banded silver; floral bracts 2.3–3.1 cm; inflorescences with 2–6 flowers per branch; corolla pink to dark rose
T. flexuosa
4. Leaves greater than 20 in number, not twisted or banded (rarely variegated with linear cream stripes); floral bracts 1.2–2 cm; inflorescence with 6–11 flowers per branch; corolla white
T. utriculata
5. Leaf sheath conspicuously inflated; plants pseudobulbous.
→ 6
5. Leaf sheath flat or only slightly inflated; plants not pseudobulbous.
→ 10
6. Leaf blade channeled to involute; scapes 8–35 cm; floral bracts glabrous to inconspicuously scaly near apex only.
→ 7
6. Leaf blade involute; scapes 1–15 cm; floral bracts densely scaly.
→ 8
7. Leaf blade and scape bracts twisted, reflexed
T. balbisiana
7. Leaf blade and scape bracts erect to spreading
T. x smalliana
8. Scape 7–15 cm; plants from extreme s Texas
T. baileyi
8. Scape 6 cm or less; plants from Florida.
→ 9
9. Inflorescence linear to narrowly elliptic; base of floral bracts visible at anthesis
T. paucifolia
9. Inflorescence broadly elliptic; base of floral bracts not visible at anthesis
T. pruinosa
10. Leaf blade obviously narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex.
→ 11
10. Leaf blade linear-triangular to filiform.
→ 12
11. Leaves soft, brittle; inflorescence simple or laxly 2–3 branched, never palmate; floral bracts 0.6–0.9 cm wide
T. variabilis
11. Leaves stiff, leathery; inflorescence densely palmate to laxly 2(–3)-pinnate with 3–15 branches; floral bracts 1.2–2 cm wide
T. fasciculata
12. Leaf sheath narrowly elliptic, 1.2–2 cm wide, slightly inflated
T. simulata
12. Leaf sheath broadly elliptic to triangular, 0.8–2.5 cm wide, flat.
→ 13
13. Leaves finely appressed-scaly, appearing green to reddish green; sheath of scape bracts, especially distal ones, narrowing abruptly into blade; floral bracts green or tinged red, uniformly scaly; corolla lavender
T. setacea
13. Leaves densely and coarsely appressed-scaly, appearing gray; sheath of scape bracts narrowing gradually into blade; floral bracts uniformly red to rose, scaly distally, becoming sparsely scaly toward base; corolla violet.
→ 14
14. Leaves 15–30, not over 0.5 cm wide at mid-length; inflorescence simple or with 1–5 lateral branches
T. bartramii
14. Leaves 20–50, 0.5–1 cm wide at mid-length; inflorescence 2-pinnate with 2–10 lateral branches
T. x floridana
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22. Authors: Harry E. Luther, Gregory K. Brown.
Parent taxa Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia Bromeliaceae
Sibling taxa
T. baileyi, T. balbisiana, T. bartramii, T. fasciculata, T. flexuosa, T. paucifolia, T. pruinosa, T. recurvata, T. setacea, T. simulata, T. utriculata, T. variabilis, T. ×floridana, T. ×smalliana
Subordinate taxa
T. baileyi, T. balbisiana, T. bartramii, T. fasciculata, T. flexuosa, T. paucifolia, T. pruinosa, T. recurvata, T. setacea, T. simulata, T. usneoides, T. utriculata, T. variabilis, T. x floridana, T. x smalliana
Synonyms Renealmia usneoides, Dendropogon usneoides
Name authority (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl., ed. 2 1: 411. (1762) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 286. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5; 138, (1754)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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