Patches of moss grow in rosette form on sandy soil in the fumarolic areas at temperatures of . A steady supply of water, the fumarolic warmth and shelter allow the growth of this vegetation; such volcanic vegetation is also found at volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount Melbourne. The mosses may have arrived there by wind; Pohlia nutans, the moss found at Mount Rittmann, is a cosmopolitan species which is also encountered elsewhere in Victoria Land. Genetic analysis indicates that the mosses growing at Mount Rittmann arrived there in one event and are not diverse.