garden to 14,000 specimens, many of them rare plants. He worked in close collaboration with Cristoph Friedrich Otto (1783–1856), conservator at the botanical garden. In 1827 he named with him the cacti genera Echinocactus and Melocactus. Most of the fungi that he named, are still recognised under the original name, proving the high quality of his work (such as Cordyceps, Creopus, Fusarium, Leocarpus, Myxomycetes, Phragmidium). He was elected member of the Berlin Academy of Science and many other scientific societies, including the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which elected him a foreign member in 1840. He trained a whole new generation of natural scientists, such as Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795–1876). Throughout his life, he travelled extensively throughout Europe. He benefited from his knowledge of foreign languages, including Arabic and ancient Sanskrit. He died in Berlin on 1 January 1851, almost 84 years old. He was succeeded by Alexander Heinrich Braun (1805–1877), He is recognised as one of the last scientists of the 19th century with a universal knowledge. Link was also one of the few German botanists of his time, who aimed at a complete understanding of plants, through a systematic anatomical and physiological research. His most important work is the Handbuch zur Erkennung der nutzbarsten und am häufigsten vorkommenden Gewächse (three volumes, published between 1829 and 1833). Selected works Grundlehren der Anatomie und Physiologie der Pflanzen (Göttingen. 1807); (Fundamental principles of the anatomy and physiology of plants) (proving for the first time that plant cells existed independently and were not part of a homogeneous vegetable mass). Nachträge zu den Grundlehren etc. (Göttingen. 1809) (Supplement to the fundamental principles etc. ) Die Urwelt und das Altertum, erläutert durch die Naturkunde (Berlin 1820–1822, 2nd ed. 1834); (Prehistoric times and antiquity, explained by natural history) Digital edition by the University and State Library Düsseldorf Erster Theil (1829). Zweiter Theil (1831). Dritter Theil (1833). Das Altertum und der Übergang zur neuern Zeit (Berlin 1842); (Antiquity and the transition to modern times) Elementa philosophiae botanicae (Berlin 1824; 2nd ed., in Latin and German 1837); Anatomisch-botanische Abbildungen zur Erläuterung der Grundlehren der Kräuterkunde (Berlin 1837–42); (Anatomical-botanical illustrations explaining the basic teachings for herbalists) Ausgewählte anatomisch-botanische Abbildungen (Berlin 1839–42) (Selected anatomical botanical illustrations) ( Filicum species in horto regio Berolinensi cultae (Berlin 1841) (Fern species in Berlin botanical garden) Anatomie der Pflanzen in Abbildungen (Berlin. 1843–47). (Illustrated anatomy of plants) He published together with Friedrich Otto