<P> Spanish moss ( Tillandsia usneoides ) is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon larger trees in tropical and subtropical climates , native to much of Mexico , Bermuda , the Bahamas , Central America , South America , the southern United States , and the West Indies as well as being naturalized in Queensland ( Australia ) known as `` grandpas beard '' and in French Polynesia . In the United States from where it is most known , it is commonly found on the southern live oak ( Quercus virginiana ) and bald - cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) in the lowlands , swamps , and savannas of the southeastern United States from Texas and Florida north through southern Arkansas . </P>
what hangs from the trees in the bayou
Spanish moss