Family: Bromeliad
Sub-Family: Tillandsioideae
Genus: Tillandsia
Sub-Genus:
Native distribution: Tillandsia usneoides is the most widely distributed of all the Bromeliads, ranging from Virginia south to Argentina and Chile at altitudes from sea level to 8,000 feet.
Habit: This adaptable species consists of slender, greatly elongated stems, at intervals bearing numerous short, thin leaves, 1 to 2 inches long that like the stems are covered with silvery scales. The plant just continues grow and expanding with these threadlike strands which may measure up to 30 meters in length. This almost rootless epiphyte hangs in large festoons, often creating dense masses, hanging from trees, over dry cliffs and rocky hill sides. Because of this it is often known as "Spanish Moss" and has become one of the natural features of the southern part of the United States hanging like Eire disintegrating curtains from trees.
Foliage: The foliage is heavily covered with tichomes and indistinguishable from the stems giving the appearance of a tangled fishing line.
Flowers: The plant has tiny, fragrant yellow green flowers (especially at night), which appear singly on a very short stalk in the axils of the leaves with the tiniest petals that are chartreuse.
Seed:
Pups: The plant is continually dividing
Cultivation: While it is an adapatable plant it does like being outside and in a situation where the air can move through the filiments. Pieces often break of and can be found growning in the strangest places.
Fertilization: A mist every week with Epiphyites Delight or Epsom salts during the growing season will help the plant.
( Epiphyte’s Delight fertilizer was developed for a special reason. Nitrogen promotes foliar growth. If you have Tillandsias, Orchids, or other epiphytes and you feed them, take a look at the nitrogen content. If it’s high in urea, the plants can’t use it because the urea needs a bacteria in soil to break it down into ammonia and nitrates. Since the epiphytes don’t have any soil they can’t break down the urea. It was for this reason that we had Epiphyte’s Delight formulated. It contains only ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen which is immediately accessible and usable by the plants.)
Availability:
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