Cladonia floerkeana is a lichen. A lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae and lives among fungus in a symbiotic relationship.
Although Cladonia floerkeana is considered a moss, it does not grow real 'cups'. Instead, it consists of straight match-like sticks. Like reindeer moss, this moss type bears red fruits no bigger than a match head. Cladonia floerkeana grows on peaty and sandy soils, and on rotting wood in heaths, sand drifts, dunes, and thatched roofs. The park's former sand drifts are now home to a sea of Cladonia floerkeana.