Labels for E. oreophilus Isotype at NMC.
Thanks to the New Mexico State University Herbarium I have been able to view an isotype of O.B. Metcalfe's 1904 collection, presented as a new species E. oreophilus by E.L. Greene (1905). The sheet, presented as scanned below, has 6 specimens. Although isotypes in various herbaria have variously been determined to be E. nuttallianus or E. sericeus, the habit of all online type images I have seen does not match that of E. nuttallianus, and does support the view of S.J. van Ooststroom that it represents a variety (discolor) of E. sericeus.
Examination of actual specimens confirms this view, with strong evidence of (1) basal acrodromous venation (red arrows) and (2) ovate outer sepals (blue arrows) — both characters found with all six specimens on the NMC sheet. Click on a specimen for an enlargement, which will then have ‘hot’ areas to produce large views of the venation and/or sepals.
