Fuchs
matriculated from the University in his 13th year. At
first he became a teacher and finally a physician. As
a practitioner and teacher he was in great demand and
acquired a widespread reputation. He eventually became
a Lutheran. In 1535, he became Professor of Medicine
in the newly organized University of Tubingen where he
remained until his death.
The plants in his herbal, De Historia
Stirpium, 1542, are illustrated by woodcuts, one
genus occupying a full page. They were beautifully
drawn in outline from nature with no shading. The book
was intended for the common people so Latin names were
omitted. Three hundred, forty-three chapters each
involving one genus were included. Four hundred plants
native to Germany and one hundred of foreign origin
were depicted. Among these were the first known
pictures of pumpkin and Indian corn from America.
Fuchs examined the herbal of Brunfels as well as
the botanical text of Bock, but his descriptions were
largely his own. The woodcuts were excellent. They
were produced by two excellent artists and a fine
engraver. These illustrations were frequently copied
until the end of the 18th Century and even to the
present. Dioscorides was his final authority.
