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

twisted airplant

Habit Plants pendent in long festoons, flowering to 300 cm. Plants single or in small clusters, flowering to 1 m.
Stems

elongate.

short.

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.

10–20, many-ranked, spreading to recurved, spirally twisted, gray or reddish, banded silver, to 40 × 1–2.5 cm, appressed-grayish-scaly;

sheath dark chestnut brown, broadly elliptic to ovate, not inflated, not forming pseudobulb, 2–3 cm wide;

blade narrowly triangular, leathery, channeled to involute, apex attenuate.

Inflorescences

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

scape conspicuous, erect, 15–40 cm, 3–5 mm diam.;

bracts laxly imbricate, erect to spreading, distal widely spaced, like leaves but gradually smaller;

sheath of bracts narrowing abruptly into blade;

spikes very laxly 2–6-flowered, erect to spreading, simple or 2-pinnate, linear in outline, 12–40 × 3–4.5 cm, apex acute;

lateral branches 2–8.

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.

5–40, conspicuous;

sepals free, elliptic, not keeled, 2–3 cm, leathery to thin-leathery, veined, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous;

corolla tubular, petals erect, apex spreading, pink to dark rose, ligulate, to 4 cm;

stamens exserted;

stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral.

Fruits

to 2.5 cm.

to 7.5 cm.

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.

bracts widely spaced, spreading with flowers, gray or reddish, exposing most of rachis at anthesis, elliptic, not keeled, 2.3–3.1 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces glabrous to slightly scaly.

Tillandsia usneoides

Tillandsia flexuosa

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Epiphytic, occasionally on fences, telephone lines Epiphytic in exposed habitats often near the coast
Elevation 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) 0–30 m (0–100 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 FNA
FL; Central America; South America; West Indies
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia
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
T. baileyi, T. balbisiana, T. bartramii, T. fasciculata, T. paucifolia, T. pruinosa, T. recurvata, T. setacea, T. simulata, T. usneoides, T. utriculata, T. variabilis, T. ×floridana, T. ×smalliana
Synonyms Renealmia usneoides, Dendropogon usneoides T. aloifolia
Name authority (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl., ed. 2 1: 411. (1762) Swartz: Prodr. 56. (1788)
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