96 INTRODUCTION TO PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



The system of life-forms outlined above is clearly elaborated in Chapter 

 XII of J. Braun-Blanquet's Plant Sociology (McGraw-Hill, New York & 

 London, pp. xviii + 439, 1932) ; there are some refinements in the second 

 German edition, Pflanzensoziologie : Grundziige der Vegetationskunde 

 (Springer, Wien, pp. xi -\- 631, 1951). However, for a detailed account 

 of the development and application of this system, the interested student 

 should refer to the volume of collected papers of the late C. Raunkiaer, 

 entitled The Life Forms of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography (Claren- 

 don Press, Oxford, pp. xvi + 632, 1934)- A briefer account is given in 

 the same author's Plant Life Forms, translated by H. Gilbert-Carter 

 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. vii -|- 104, 1937). 



Any walk in the country, or even in a garden or public park, with due 

 contemplation of the seemingly endless variety of plants encountered — 

 the Lichens or green powdery algal cells on the bark of many trees are 

 just as truly plants as the giants on which they grow — should convince 

 even the most sceptical layman of the need for classification. The more 

 intelligent and interested will almost inevitably find themselves comparing 

 similar plants and mentally putting them into groups, which may be 

 either systematic or life-form ones. It may be noted in the course of 

 such observations that the life-forms chiefly give some indication of the 

 physiognomy of the vegetation. This is largely dependent on local 

 environmental conditions and may look alike even where quite different 

 kinds of plants are involved. On the other hand, systematic relationships 

 {e.g. following the lines indicated in Chapter II) depend also considerably 

 on past and present geographical connections and barriers, so that only 

 an account including floristic determinations and details of frequency 

 etc. can give the more complete picture for which we strive. 



