2020 County Report for North Kerry

Rory Hodd

No targeted recording was undertaken in H2 over the course of 2020, with a small number of records coming in from various people. Despite the lack of records, two new non-native species were recorded for the vice-county. A resident of Tralee got in touch to report that a large pond on their land was chocked with the invasive fern Azolla filiculoides, which will hopefully remain the only locality for this problematic species in Kerry. Darren Reidy sent a photo of what could only be Trachystemon orientalis, well established alongside the River Feale near Listowel, and a first record for Kerry. Darren also sent a record for long naturalised Sedum telephium, not recorded in H2 since prior to 1969. Daniel Buckley’s record of Phegopteris connectilis above Shrone Loughs on the Paps in East Kerry was the first record for that species there since 1998. A find of a new location for Ophrys apifera, by Gosia Horajska, along the verge of the recently constructed Tralee Bypass wa spicked up by the local media and raised awareness of the flora of Kerry amongst the general public. The only outings of the Kerry Local Group, organised by Jessica Hamilton, were for the New Year Plant Hunt, along the usual routes around Muckross in the Killarney National Park and at Ballyseedy Woods near Tralee, the latter of which was well attended.