Heinrich Christian Funck (22 November 1771 – 14 April 1839) was a German

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and bryologist born in

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. He was a co-founder of the

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

Botanical Society. He received early training at a

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

, subsequently studying in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

and

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

. In 1803 he acquired the family-owned pharmacy in

Gefrees Gefrees () is a town in the Bayreuth (district), district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 21 km northeast of Bayreuth. It was the site of a Battle of Gefrees, battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Referen ...

, from where he performed research of

cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

, especially

bryophytes The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited i ...

. He conducted botanical investigations in the nearby

Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

, and also organized excursions to the

Alps, Italy, Switzerland, et al. In 1834 he sold the pharmacy in Gefrees in order to devote more time and energy to botany. Funck died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in Gefrees on 14 April 1839.

Written works

* ''Kryptogamische Gewächse des Fichtelgebirges'',

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

; exsiccata work, second edition 1806–1838, 42 fascicles) – Cryptogamic plants of the Fichtelgebirge. * ''Deutschlands Moose: Ein Taschenherbarium zum Gebrauch auf botanischen Excursionen'',

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

(1820) – Mosses of Germany : a pocket

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

for use on botanical excursions.Denkschriften der Königlich-Baierischen Botanischen ..., Volumes 10–11
by Bayerische Botanische Gesellschaft in Regensburg

References

(translated biography) * [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.botanik.biologie.uni-muenchen.de/botsyst/ic/ic-pha-f.htm&ei=pBtdSvCUGIumMerTvK4C&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Heinrich%2BChristian%2BFunck%2522%2B1771%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D10 Phaneros and Pteridophytes (F)] Collectors Index Herbarium M (translated biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Funck, Heinrich Christian 1771 births 1839 deaths People from Wunsiedel 19th-century German botanists Bryologists German pharmacists Scientists from Regensburg