Looks like rain, dear!

Moss. Reindeer moss. Actually a lichen not a moss. Cladonia portentosa is one of several closely related species. At this time of the year it's not hard to find it growing in among clumps of heather on coastal and mountain moorland. It looks and feels like a  damp springy sponge, light green or almost-white  in colour and with a structure that resembles a tangle of tiny antlers; co-incidentally it is eaten by reindeer and caribou who know the trick of 'cratering': using their hooves to clear a hole through the snow to reach this unique winter diet.

Survivalists know that it has many uses. It has long been an emergency foodstuff (and is again being served by contemporary wild food chefs and foragers) but it has to be leached in running water or boiled several times to remove the acid before it is fit for human consumption; it can act as an absorbent  wound dressing or as outdoor loo paper.  Dried, it is sold for floristry and craft supplies in order to make wreaths or those pretend miniature bushes you see on architectural maquettes or model train track dioramas..