Trefle Distributions API

Access geographic distribution zones and retrieve plants native or established in specific regions.

OpenAPI Specification

trefle-distributions-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Trefle Distributions API
  description: Trefle is an open, freely accessible botanical data source and REST API for plant information. The API provides access to data on kingdoms, subkingdoms, divisions, plant families, genus, plant species, and geographic distributions. Over 400,000 plant species are available. Authentication uses a personal access token passed as a query parameter or Authorization header.
  version: 1.0.0
  contact:
    name: Trefle Support
    url: https://trefle.io
  license:
    name: MIT
    url: https://github.com/treflehq/trefle-api/blob/master/LICENSE
servers:
- url: https://trefle.io/api/v1
  description: Trefle Production API
security:
- tokenAuth: []
tags:
- name: Distributions
  description: Access geographic distribution zones and retrieve plants native or established in specific regions.
paths:
  /distributions:
    get:
      operationId: listDistributions
      summary: List Distributions
      description: Returns a list of geographic distribution zones used in Trefle to describe plant native and established ranges.
      tags:
      - Distributions
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Distributions returned
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  data:
                    type: array
                    items:
                      $ref: '#/components/schemas/Distribution'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /distributions/{id}/plants:
    get:
      operationId: getPlantsByDistribution
      summary: Get Plants by Distribution
      description: Retrieves plants native or established in a specific geographic distribution zone. Can be filtered by establishment type (native, introduced, etc.).
      tags:
      - Distributions
      parameters:
      - name: id
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        description: Distribution zone slug or ID (e.g., tibet, california, france)
      - name: filter[establishment]
        in: query
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - native
          - introduced
          - naturalised
          - uncertain
          - endemic
        description: Filter by establishment type in the distribution zone
      - name: page
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Plants in distribution zone returned
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  data:
                    type: array
                    items:
                      $ref: '#/components/schemas/PlantSummary'
                  links:
                    $ref: '#/components/schemas/PaginationLinks'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
components:
  schemas:
    PaginationLinks:
      type: object
      properties:
        self:
          type: string
        first:
          type: string
        next:
          type: string
        prev:
          type: string
        last:
          type: string
    Distribution:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: integer
        name:
          type: string
        slug:
          type: string
        tdwg_code:
          type: string
          description: TDWG geographic code
        tdwg_level:
          type: integer
        species_count:
          type: integer
        links:
          type: object
    PlantSummary:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: integer
          description: Trefle plant identifier
        common_name:
          type: string
          description: Common name of the plant
        slug:
          type: string
          description: URL-safe unique identifier
        scientific_name:
          type: string
          description: Scientific (Latin) name
        status:
          type: string
          description: Taxonomic status
        rank:
          type: string
          description: Taxonomic rank
        family_common_name:
          type: string
          description: Common name of the plant family
        family:
          type: string
          description: Scientific family name
        genus_id:
          type: integer
        genus:
          type: string
          description: Genus name
        image_url:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: URL to the plant image
        synonyms:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        links:
          type: object
          properties:
            self:
              type: string
            plant:
              type: string
            genus:
              type: string
  responses:
    Unauthorized:
      description: Authentication failed. Access token missing, invalid, or expired.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            type: object
            properties:
              error:
                type: string
              message:
                type: string
  securitySchemes:
    tokenAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: query
      name: token
      description: 'Trefle personal access token obtained by registering at trefle.io. Can be passed as a query parameter (?token=YOUR_TOKEN) or in the Authorization header (Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN).'