Tillandsia recurvata                                           Photo Fiona Sunquist ©

Like Spanish moss, the common, inconspicuous ball moss is a member of the pineapple family. Ball moss grows attached to branches and tree trunks in scrub, hammocks and pine forests. The silvery green leaves wind around each other to form a tangled ball-like cluster; the small flower spikes protruding from the ‘ball’, bloom from April to October.

Ball moss is often sold as an ornamental ‘air plant’ in tourist shops.

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