More than a century later, botanists announced a new variety of the species, shown in the two images on this page. This plant is classified as rare.
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In 1850 Henry Pratten left New Harmony for a collecting trip to California. He returned in 1851 and sent his plant specimens to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. There, they formed the basis for a publication by Elias Durand in which one of the new species was given the name Eriogonum prattenianum Durand.
More than a century later, botanists announced a new variety of the species, shown in the two images on this page. This plant is classified as rare. |
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The announcement was in the form of an article:
James L. Reveal and James R. Shevock, "New variety of Eriogonum prattenianum (Polygonaceae; Eriogonoideae) from the southern Sierra Nevada," Phytologia 66 (1989) 249-250. The Introduction in the article tells that in 1968, Munz and Reveal [see Supplement to A California Flora, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968] noted the existence of an isolated high elevation variation of Erigonum prattenianum in Fresno Co., California. At that time the plant was known only from a single collection. In 1984 Shevock and [Tim] McLaughlin hiked to Kettle Dome [overlooking Tehipite Valley in Kings Canyon National Park] to collect adequate material for a proper analysis. The images shown above were provided by Dr. James R. Shevock of the National Park Service. |
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| To the right, you see images of the original Erigonum prattenianum, provided by Professor James L. Reveal of the University of Maryland. |
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Henry Pratten, paleontologist and naturalist
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