CHAPTER XVI. 



THE ECOLOGY OF PLANTS. 



398. Plant Ecology. Having now gained some practical 

 knowledge of the structure and life-processes of plants, you 

 should proceed to study the vegetation of your own district 

 and that of any district you may visit. The main object 

 of this study should be to find out as much as possible 

 about the various ways in which plants are influenced by, 

 and adapted to, their surroundings or " environment." The 

 term Plant Ecology simply means "the study of plants 

 in their homes." Much can be done in this direction even 

 with limited knowledge of the classification of plants; but 

 the more you know of structure, physiology, and classifica- 

 tion, the better will you be equipped for the study of plants 

 from the ecological point of view. It is an easy task to 

 learn how to distinguish the commoner plants, especially 

 those which show striking adaptations to some special locality 

 or "habitat." 



There are various books which enable one to identify any flowering 

 plant met with in this country. The most complete of these "Floras" 

 are Bentham and Hooker's British Flora and Hooker's Student's Flora ; 

 the former is illustrated, and is the more expensive of the two. Smaller 

 books, less complete and less expensive, are Hayward's Pocket Flora 

 and Watts's School Flora. 



399. Terms nsed in Plant Ecology. You must often 

 have noticed that various plants grow together, in a sort 

 of society or community, in certain localities e.g. in water 

 or in marshes, on moors and in bogs evidently because 

 they " like " or " prefer " (that is, are adapted to) the same 

 kind of soil, the same conditions of dryness or wetness, the 



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