I’m not a great observer. I missed the pillbugs on the sidewalk, until I had to step over them. And now I see the ball moss, Tillandsia recurva, because it came down in the wind and is on the sidewalk instead of the trees.
If you don’t know these plants, they are balls of gray-green — moss-like tangles in the trees. Some are as big as cantaloupes.
They’re the most misunderstood plant around here, I think. Every year or so, the garden columnists and horticultural experts put out a plea in the newspaper, urging the public leave the ball moss alone.
But you can tell by the tone of the columns that the authors think it’s hopeless.
People are convinced ball moss is a parasite. It’s not. It’s an epiphyte. It uses the tree for structure. It doesn’t tap into the tree’s vascular system to get to water and nutrients.
T. recurvate is also not a moss. It’s a Bromeliad, a member of the family that includes pineapple. Ball moss has flowers and seeds.
These plants fix nitrogen, or, more precisely, are associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the genus Pseudomonas. They get nitrogen, water and other nutrients from the atmosphere. When they fall to the ground and decompose, they enrich the soil.
If we human beings would just look, we could tell that these plants don’t have real roots that tap into the tree’s limbs. They have pseudo roots that wrap around tree limbs. The tipoff is that they don’t just fasten onto trees. They fasten onto fences and power lines.
I’ve seen power lines covered in ball moss.
But most people don’t notice.
Sadly, there’s a cottage industry of fellows with pickup trucks, long ladders and chainsaws offering to save your trees from these invasive parasites for only $2,500 or so.
No comments:
Post a Comment