The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions is a standard of the International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases (TDWG) that sets out an agreed system for describing plant distributions, approximately down to country level. It defines geographic places at four scales:
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The scheme is particularly aimed at taxonomic databases.[1] It represents a compromise between political and botanical divisions. All boundaries either follow a political boundary (country boundary, province boundary, etc), or coast lines.[2] The scheme aims to follow botanical tradition, in terms of the categories of works like the Flora Europaea, Flora Malesiana, or Med-Checklist.[3]
For those desiring a more botanical classification, the document endorses the floristic provinces classified by Takhtajan.[4]
The scheme defines nine botanical continents: Europe, Africa, Asia-Temperate, Asia-Tropical, Australasia, Pacific, Northern America, Southern America and Antarctic.
Works using the scheme include the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, published by Kew Gardens;[5] and the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).