This photo shows a tree covered with Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) which is really an epiphytic flowering plant.
Spanish moss used to be harvested for stuffing material in automobile seats, furniture, mattresses, and even insulation in homes. Today it is sometimes used for stuffing or packing material, but it is more widely used for floral arrangements and mulch. University of Florida, IFAS Extentsion, Spanish Moss
The things sticking up from the edge of the water are "tree knees." See Wikipedia: Cypress Knee. Trees that develop these "knees" include:
- Glyptostrobus
- Bald cypress
- Pond cypress
- Ahuehuete
- Metasequoia
A cypress knee is a distinctive structure forming above the roots of a cypress tree of any of various species of the subfamily Taxodioideae. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen on trees growing in swamps. Some current hypotheses state that they might help to aerate the tree's roots, create a barrier to catch sediment and reduce erosion, assist in anchoring the tree in the soft and muddy soil, or any combination thereof.
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