Taraxacum nordstedtii Dahlst., a dandelion

Fermanagh Occurence

Described in the Dandelion Handbook as, "a quite exceptionally variable species", and especially so with respect to its leaves. This is the only hexaploid dandelion in B & I. Although specimens were collect in March, Lambert & Hackney (1976) commented that many of the plants of this microspecies had already developed leaves of the summer form. T. nordstedtii is common in lowland wet places throughout B & I. It displays differing behaviour with respect to habitat preferences depending on geography: in SE England it is mostly confined to wet meadows, while Dudman & Richards (1997) regard it as much more "catholic" in the west, where it occurs, "on walls, banks, cliffs, roadsides and waste ground" (ie in much drier, weedy situations).

By quite a wide margin, T. nordstedtii is the most frequent and widespread dandelion microspecies recorded in Ireland to date. Map 42 in the Dandelion Handbook displays a total of 42 hectads, which, using the same reference source, is twelve more than the next most frequently recorded segregate, T. gelertii. Likewise, in the Field Handbook map, T. nordstedtii is recorded in around 70 hectads (too many to easily count by eye in a small map!). Although the records occur scattered across most of the island, they are definitely more frequent in the Midland area of the country (Richards 2021, p. 107).

There are six Fermanagh stations and a total of ten vouchers for this microspecies in BEL, all recorded by P. Hackney in March 1975 and all determined by A.J. Richards in either 1975 or 2008. The other details of the first station are: south-facing roadside bank at Stratonagher Td, near Conagher Forest, 27 March, Accession Numbers H5011 and H5012. This site is shared with two other dandelions, T. duplidentifrons and T. gelertii.

The details of the five other stations collected in 1975 (with Accession Numbers) are: wall at Stratonagher Td, 27 March, H5007; roadside verge near Glenwhinny Hill, 2 km NE of Derrygonnelly, 27 March, H5024; shore of Lower Lough Erne at Slawin Td, 28 March, H5031; crevices in limestone cliff, Pollawaddy, 1 km S of Marble Arch Caves, 29 March, H5044-5047 (ie four separate vouchers); NE of Garrane, 6 km NNW of Rosslea, 30 March, H5051.

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