Taraxacum duplidentifrons Dahlst., a dandelion
The authors of the BSBI Dandelion Handbook believe that this microspecies can lay claim to be the commonest dandelion throughout B & I, the distribution being, however, concentrated in the N & W. As always, when they make such statements, the writers are really only considering the mainland British distribution. The Dandelion Handbook lists six Irish VCs from which records have been obtained, and the Field Handbook treatment, where the hectad count is considerably enlarged reaching a total of 29 squares, comments on the noticeable easterly distribution on the island. The plant occupies grassy places, but especially on well-drained, base-rich soils (Dudman & Richards 1997).
There are two records of this microspecies in Fermanagh, both made on 27 March 1975. One was collected as a mixed gathering (with T. hamatum) on the voucher H5005, from a moss-covered gravelly roadside bank near Knockmore Hill. The second site was on a south-facing roadside bank with clay soil at Stratonagher Td, near Conagher Forest, voucher H5013, det A.J. Richards 1975.
Although the FNEI 3 lists one record from each of the three VCs covered by the work (Cos Down (H38), Antrim (H39) & Londonderry (H40)), the Dandelion Handbook (Map 34) only displays hectads in Cos Antrim and Londonderry. Apart from the Fermanagh record, the map plots four additional hectads further south in the RoI, making a total Irish count of just nine squares from six Irish VCs including Fermanagh.
T. duplidentifrons is very frequent and widespread in Britain across all latitudes and has also been recorded on the European continent in France, Belgium and the Netherlands (Richards 2021).
References
FNEI 3; Field Handbook; Dandelion Handbook