Aureus virginiana with Tilandsia usneoides and Tilandsia recurvata

Spanish Moss isn’t really “moss at all. It is an epiphyte that gets its nourishment from particles in the air. Consequently it grows hanging from the branches of trees and fences. There is another epiphyte here up in the right hand corner. Like the Spanish Moss, ball Moss is in the genus Tilandsia and is not a true moss. It also gets its nourishment from the air. It perches on shrubbery and tree branches. The green leaves in the painting belong to the Live Oak, which doesn’t shed its leaves in the fall, but only loses them in the spring after new spring leaves have formed. Spanish moss, Ball moss and Live Oak are all common in the south eastern United States where it is warm and humid.