Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates.

Most known in the United States, it commonly is found on the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the lowlands, swamps, and marshes of the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states, from the coast of southeastern Virginia to Florida and west to southern Arkansas and Texas.

Spanish moss consists of one or more slender stems, bearing alternate thin, curved or curly, and heavily scaled leaves 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 inches) long and 1 mm (0.04 inches) broad, that grow vegetatively in a chain-like fashion (pendant), forming hanging structures of up to 6 m (20 feet).

[11] Spanish moss' primary range is in the Southeastern United States (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) to Argentina, where the climate is warm enough and a relatively high average humidity occurs.

[citation needed] In North America, it occurs in a broad band following the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic coast.

[6] The northern limit of its natural range is Northampton County, Virginia,[12] with colonial-era reports of it in southern Maryland,[13][14][15] where no populations are now known to exist.

It is also known as hinahina, ("silvery") borrowing the name of the native heliotrope used in lei until shoreline development made access difficult.

In the early 21st century the plant was heavily marketed as "Pele's hair"/"lauoho-o-Pele", which actually refers to a type of filamentous volcanic glass.

Spanish moss has been used for various purposes, including building insulation, mulch, packing material, mattress stuffing, and fiber.

[24] Today, it is collected in smaller quantities for use in arts and crafts, as bedding for flower gardens, and as an ingredient in bousillage, a traditional wall covering material.