The Unknown Florida

One of the defining sights in Tallahassee are oak trees with plenty of Spanish moss upon them. Of course, this is part of the imagery of Deep-South culture and Southern-Gothic. No southern movie, whether historic dramas like Gone With the Wind, thrillers like Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte or horror flicks like Jeepers Creepers can go without it. From a more scientific perspective, Spanish moss (Tillandsia Usneoides) is an epiphytic flowering plant that grows on large trees in tropical and subtropical climate. Epiphytic means it does not have roots but gets its nutrients and water from the air and moisture that surrounds it.

In most of its movie appearances, Tillandsia Usneoides plays a supporting role only. It is not competing with Bette Davis’ eyes or Joseph Cotten’s singing. Or, for that matter, the killer who decapitated young Charlotte’s lover John with a meat cleaver. Well, John was married and perhaps deserved it; it is the Bible-Belt after all. But no more spoilers. What I meant to say is, that in most movies Spanish moss is mostly part of the set design to make things look southern and creepy. There is one exception though: The 1972 eco-horror film Frogs! We actually re-watched the movie during the pandemic (I had already seen it in the 80s on late-night horror TV) but I don’t remember why. Most likely, I was thinking about horror movies I watched in my childhood or movies that were shot near Tallahassee (like The Creature From the Black Lagoon). Frogs was actually filmed in the Florida Panhandle at Eden Garden State Park off Choctawhatchee Bay. It is about 100 miles west of here. The landscape in that movie is, therefore, eerily familiar to a Tallahassian. To make a long story short, Frogs is about an upper-class southern family reunion in a mansion by the bay. Because the bay is polluted by pesticides from a nearby plantation, Mother Nature, in the form of frogs, snakes, spiders and Tillandsia Usneoides, takes her revenge by attacking and killing humans. In one memorable scene, the Spanish moss actively falls from the trees to smother one family member, who is subsequently killed by spiders and snakes. You have read this correctly, Tillandsia moved beyond being a set design to become an active participant in a revenge plot. Watch the movie! The rating at IMDB is mediocre at best, but we actually enjoyed it.

In a nutshell, Spanish moss can be still very creepy and worth photographing, and Tallahassee is full of it. The following pictures were taken in Cascades Park at night.