Identification: Need a little help identifying this plant

Hello, I was out hiking near Wilmington nc and came across this really interesting plant but I can't figure out what it is and was wondering if someone could help me out. I found several patches of the plant around the woods, it's also a very sandy area where I was hiking

 

Looks like a species of Lichen - Wikipedia.

 

It looks a lot like one of the Reindeer Lichens, Cladonia species; however, they usually occur in more northern locations. I did read about one that has been found in western N. Carolina.

 

Thank you! Much appreciated. It does look very similar to the reindeer lichen