While it rarely kills the trees upon which it grows, it lowers their growth rate by reducing the amount of light reaching the trees' own leaves. It also increases wind resistance, which can prove fatal to the host tree in a hurricane. In the southern U.S., the plant seems to show a preference for growth on southern live oak or bald cypress. Due to its propensity for growing in subtropical humid southern locales like Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, east and south Texas, and Alabama, the plant is often associated with Southern Gothic imagery and Deep South culture.