Ballmoss

Also known as Small Ballmoss, Ball Moss

Ballmoss forms dense, spherical tufts of silver-grey leaves that perch securely along the branches of mature trees, fences, and utility wires. Because it is an epiphyte rather than a parasite, it relies on specialized leaf scales called trichomes to capture moisture and dissolved nutrients directly from rainfall and airborne dust. During early summer, tiny pale blue to violet flowers emerge on slender stalks, eventually producing feathery seeds that drift on the wind to colonize new perches.