He stocked the garden attached to his house with rare specimens solicited from friends around Europe, and he assembled a large botanical library.

[5] During Fuchs' lifetime the book went through 39 printings in Dutch, French, German, Latin, and Spanish and 20 years after his death was again translated into English.

The illustrators were Heinrich Füllmaurer [de] and Albrecht Meyer, and the woodcutter Veit Rudolph Speckle, portraits of whom are contained in the volume.

[7] Its appeal to gardeners, botanists, bibliophiles, and the casual viewer was immediate, while the clarity of its plant pictures continues to define a standard for botanical illustrators.

[8] It set a new standard for accuracy and quality, as well as being the first known publication of plants from the Americas, such as pumpkin, maize, marigold, potato, and tobacco.