  We present an extensive set of optical spectroscopy of the nearby type Ia
supernova, SN 2002er, with 24 epochs spanning -11 to +34 days. Its spectral
evolution is fairly typical of a type Ia supernova although it suffers high
extinction. Nevertheless, there are differences in the spectral evolution when
compared to coeval spectra of other normal type Ia supernova with comparable
decline-rate parameters. Modelling of the photospheric phase spectra using a
homogeneous abundance distribution in the atmosphere provides a fair match to
the observations, but only by pushing the adopted distance and risetime close
to the observational limits. Future improvements here will require models with
a more realtistic stratified abundance distribution. From simple modelling of a
nebular spectrum obtained at +215d, we infer a 56Ni mass of 0.69Msun,
consistent with that derived from the light curve.
