Is there a word for the material of a forest floor?

I was in a forest last weekend and spent some time enjoying the texture of the forest floor - even now in the summer, it consists primarily of slowly decaying dry leaves and twigs:

I thought I had in the back of my mind a word for this substance, but I couldn't remember it. Now I think I might have been conflating the English word "loam" with the German word "Laub" which I think can mean this substance but also more generally means leaves/foliage.

Anyway, can anyone help me out? Do we have a word for it in English?

Sample usage: "the soft [Laub] rustled under her feet"

Solution 1:

litter (and more precisely leaf litter )

In Lexico we find this:

litter
4.1 Decomposing but recognizable leaves and other debris forming a layer on top of the soil, especially in forests.
‘the spiders live in leaf litter’

Solution 2:

The part of the forest floor that is composed of a decomposing compost of leaves is historically known (at least in England) as leaf mould, which, since it begins with an L, is most likely the term you were half-remembering.

In general, though, unless you're specifically talking about the rotting stuff, go with forest floor, or @decapitated-soul's suggestion of detritus.