Ball moss can cause tree problems

Get it growing

Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part “What’s on my tree?” series about organisms that are commonly found growing on trees in Louisiana. Here in Louisiana, we’re all familiar with Spanish moss — those charming, lacy veils that cascade from our beloved live oak and bald cypress trees and blow gently in the wind.

In recent years, however, you’ve likely noticed another, less elegant type of moss creeping into trees around the state. It’s called ball moss and, as its name suggests, it grows in a compact, spherical form affixed to tree bark.