Rembert Dodoens (June 29 1517-March 10 1585) born Rembert Van Joenckema, Flemish physician and botanist, has been called the father of botany. Dodoens was the court physician of the Holy Roman emperor Maximillian II and his successor emperor Rudolph II.  His Cruydeboeck (herb book), containing 715 images, was influenced by earlier German botanists. The book divided the plant kingdom into six groups based on their properties.  The work and its various editions and translations became one of the most important botanical works of the late 16^th century, in part due to its use of the vernacular rather than the more commonly used Latin.