Given a chance, the environment fights back against invasive species. More...

Heath Star Moss, Campylopus introflexus, is widespread in Leicestershire. This is an introduced species first found in Britain in 1941, but now occurring all over the British Isles including here. Heath Star Moss is a pioneer species of bare peat and soil after peat-cutting, burning, ploughing for forestry or ditching, and it can be very abundant where it is present. It may also grow on rotting logs and old fence posts, on thin soil at the edge of tracks, mine waste and shingle. It is quite invasive and out-competes other native mosses. You may have seen the stories in the news recently about a newly-discovered fungus which infects and kills Heath Star Moss, giving other mosses a chance to recover.

This fungus has not been recorded in Leicestershire yet, but does seem to be widespread on Heath Star Moss in the UK, so it's worth looking out for:
Greiff, G.R. (2025) Bryoscyphus granulosus sp. nov., a “moss dieback” fungus on Campylopus with a sporodochium-forming morph. Ascomycete.org, 17 (5): 197–210 https://ascomycete.org/Journal/Article/art-0422

This is not the only species of fungus which grows on mosses - the British Bryological Society has good guides to bryophilous fungi available here: https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/learning/guide-to-common-bryophilous-fungi/