564 RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT. 



or water with a concentration which would kill most meso- 

 phytes. Some plants adapt themselves to a much wider range 

 in the chemical condition of the soil, for example, the cheno- 

 pods, greasewoods (Sarcobatus), low, much-branched shrubs of 

 radiate habit, spiny branches, and small linear, fleshy leaves, etc. 

 These are plants which grow well in the so-called alkaline soils, 

 and also grow in ordinary clay or loam soils. Some soils and 

 waters are so strikingly different in chemical conditions that the 

 vegetation is profoundly influenced. 



