| 1 | STAMENS & STYLE | Longer than the petal. | 21 |
| | Shorter than or equalling the petal. | 2 |
| 2 | INFLORESCENCE | Compound. | 15 |
| | Simple. | 3 |
| 3 | PLANT | With stem. | 7 |
| | Stemless. | 4 |
| 4 | INFLORESCENCE | Reduced to one terminal sessile flower, | andreana |
| | light red. Leaves thin, filiform. | |
| | Many flowers. | 5 |
| 5 | FLOWER | "Arranged spirally on the rhachis; pink" | sprengeliana |
| | Distichous, sword shaped. | 6 |
| 5A | FLORAL BRACTS | Glabrous or nearly so | 5B |
| | Lepidote | 5C |
| 5B | LEAVES | Densely lepidote, appearing rough pruinose | sprengeliana |
| | appressed trichomes appearing metallic | kautskyi |
| 5C | LEAVES | Secund, thin soft ( Inflorescence sometimes | |
| | compound) petals violet rose | heubergeri |
| | not secund, succulent, petals pink | thiekenii |
| 6 | INFLORESCENCE | Terminal. | 6A |
| | From the side, more or less hanging | complanata |
| | Flower pink or carmine-red. | |
| '6A | PETAL | With wavy edges, delicate pink. | walteri v. herrerae |
| | With smooth edges. | 6B |
| '6B | PETAL | Wine red. Leaf narrowly triangular, | pseudomicans |
| | 15 - 20 cm long, 2 cm wide. | |
| | yellowish red, leaf narrow triangular to 9cm | gutteana |
| | long, 1.5cm wide | |
| | Carmine red. Leaf filiform, to | pseudosetacea |
| | 40 cm long, 1.2 mm wide. | |
| 7 (3) | LEAF | Arranged distichously 8 to 12 cm long, | albertiana |
| | 4 mm thick.Flower sessile, very large, light | |
| | cinnabar red. | |
| | Arranged spirally. | 7A |
| '7A | LEAF | To 9 cm long.. Scape 4-6 cm, Floral bracts | dorotheae |
| | shorter than sepals, flowers lax, 2-4 carmine | |
| | To 10 cm long. Scape 1-4 cm long, Floral bracts | colorata |
| | exceed sepals, flowers vermilion | |
| | Leaves rusty brown | |
| | same but leaves yellow-green | colorata |
| | Other | 8 |
| 8 | INFLORESCENCE | Reduced to one terminal sessile | funckiana |
| | flower,light red. Leaf thin, filiform. | |
| | Reduced to one terminal sessile | funckiana |
| | flower,light red. Leaf thin, filiform. | var recurvifolia |
| | Leaves strongly recurved in their upper half | |
| | to one side | |
| | 1(-3)flowered, leaf to 6cm long, strongly | asei |
| | nerved, plant secund, | |
| | Many flowers. | 9 |
| 9 | PLANT | 30 cm long stem. | 13 |
| | short ca 10 cm long stem. | 10 |
| 10 | LEAF | Triangular, narrowing to tip, | 11 |
| | bent recurved, not succulent. | |
| | Lance-like, awllike, stiff, succulent, dull | argentina |
| | green. Flower carmine red to pink. | |
| 11 | FLORAL BRACT | Glabrous, brownish green. Flower reddish | friesii |
| | or violet blue. Leaves coarse cinereous | |
| | Glabrous, green, flower violet pink, leaves | markusii |
| | grey shiny | |
| | Grey scaled. | 12 |
| | Grey scaled at tip | aeranthos v. rosea |
| 12 | INFLORESCENCE | Roundish, 2 - 3 flowered. | ferrisiana |
| | Flower pale carmine-red. | |
| | Flat | 12A |
| 12A | FLORAL BRACT | Pink,dense grey scaled. Rhachis visible | macbrideana |
| | Petals pink. Filament straight | |
| | macbrideana, long stemmed, leaf dark violet | var atroviolacea |
| | macbrideana long stemmed, spike to 4 cm long | var macbrideana |
| | macbrideana, long stemmed, spike to 7cm long | var major |
| | macbrideana, short stemmed, spike to 15cm | var longispica |
| | macbrideana, short stemmed, leaves to 15 cm | var longifolia |
| | Pink,dense grey scaled. Rhachis visible | pseudomacbrideana |
| | Petals pink. Filament plicate | |
| | Dark red, scattered scales. Rhachis not | pseudomicans |
| | visible. Petals wine-red | |
| 13 (9) | INFLORESCENCE | Densely capitate. | |
| | Flowers polystichous, light red. | edithae |
| | As for T. edithae but leaves only 3-4 cm long | edithae |
| | with subpungent apex | var araucariofolia |
| | Swordshaped. Flowers distichous, pink | 14 |
| 14 | INFLORESCENCE | Short, stem to 4 cm long. | macbrideana |
| | With 8 - 40 cm stem. | incarnata |
| 15 (2) | INFLORESCENCE | Dense, capitate. | 20 |
| | Not capitate. | 16 |
| 16 | FLORAL BRACT | Shorter than sepals. | 16A |
| | Equal or longer than sepals. | 17 |
| 16A | INFLORESCENCE | narrow cylindrical | ubia |
| | narrow cylindrical, once branched,4.5-6.5 cm | castelensis |
| | long, floral bracts 20-25mm long | |
| | globular | 16B |
| 16B | PLANT | Stemless. Sepals brown-red to pink. Spike | geminiflora |
| | 2 - 4 flowering. Petals pink or reddish violet | |
| | Leaf scales closely appressed. | |
| | Stemless. Sepals brown-red to pink. Spike | geminiflora |
| | 2 - 4 flowering. Petals pink or reddish violet | var incana |
| | Leaf scales spreading | |
| | With short stem. Leaves strongly bending | sucrei |
| | One way. Petal red-lilac. | |
| 17 | FLORAL BRACT | Longer than sepals. Petal pink. | 17A |
| | As long as the sepals. | 18 |
| 17A | PLANT | Stemless | 17B |
| | Stemmed where the many leaves to 20 cm long | chapeuensis |
| | form a small tower | v. turriformis |
| | Short stemmed, Flowering to 1m high, erect | chartacea |
| | Inflo sub-digitate, leaves to 35cm long | |
| | Similar to queroensis in size and shape but | |
| | sepals joined as for incarnata, from Colombia | |
| | Short stemmed, Inflo subdigitate, bent over, | pseudomacbrideana |
| | leaves to 20 cm long, | |
| | Long stemmed, from Ecuador and Peru | queroensis OR |
| | (Note: T. incarnata has leaves 7 - 24 cm long | |
| | mainly simple spike, lepidote bracts and sepals, | |
| | posterior sepals joined for 70% of the | |
| | length.T. queroensis has leaves 30 - 45cm long | |
| | compound spike, sparsely lepidote bracts and | |
| | glabrous sepals joined for 20-30% . | |
| | Harry Luther indicates there is a cline between | |
| | two species.) | |
| 17B | LEAF | Stiff, close appressed scales with not black | renateehlersiae |
| | centre, sepals 11 mm long | |
| | edges with long wing-like scales | 17C |
| | almost glabrous, green | 17E |
| | with dense white scales | 17D |
| 17C | INFLORESCENCE | capitate elliptic, floral bracts pink | gardneri |
| | capitate elliptic, floral bracts green | gardneri |
| | laxly elongate | chapeuensis |
| 17D | PLANT | Stemless to 15cm diam. leaves like grey velvet | roseiflora |
| | to 11cm long, Primary and floral bracts | |
| | glabrous except for lepidote tips, epiphyte | |
| | secund, to 12 cm high, primary & floral bracts | piauiensis |
| | lepidote, lithophyte | |
| | Stemless, 2.5-5cm diam, leaves silvery velvet | organensis |
| | lithophyte | |
| | Long stemmed, 15cm diam, leaves to 12cm | churinensis |
| | long, primary bracts densely lepidote, floral | |
| | bracts less so | |
| 17E | FLORAL BRACTS | greenish yellow | pallescens |
| | red | wurdackii |
| | red, leaves narrow riangular forming a | walter-tillii |
| | pseudobulb, inflo subdigitate to 20cm long | |
| | with 8-10 spikes, petals appendaged | |
| 18 | SPIKE | Laxly 3 - 5 flowered, not dense, swordlike | brachyphylla |
| | leaf-blade 10 - 15mm wide | |
| | Laxly 2 - 4 flowered, leaf blade 1 mm wide | globosa |
| | Inflor.bipinnate | |
| | Laxly 2 - 4 flowered, leaf blade 1 mm wide | globosa var major |
| | Inflor. tripinnate | |
| | Dense, more than 5 flowered. | 19 |
| 19 | SPIKE | spreading 1.2 cm long, posterior sepals joined | latifolia v. divaricata |
| | 1/2, floral bract always glabrous, strong | |
| | veined | |
| | erect, 1.2-1.7cm long, posterior sepals joined | latifolia |
| | 1/2 or more, floral bract glabrous or scaled, | |
| | smooth or weak veined | |
| | latifolia but plant larger, floral bracts to 23 mm | latifolia v major |
| | long, sepals to 20 mm long | |
| | latifolia but leaves dense white lepidote, | latifolia v leucophylla |
| | floral bracts glabrous sometimes waxy pruinose | |
| | suberect to spreading, sepals 2.8cm long, | suescana |
| | posterior pair joined more than 1/2, floral bract | |
| | orange yellow | |
| 20 (15) | PLANT | With stem. Flower stalk short and masked | ana |
| | by the leaves. | |
| | Stemless. Flower stalk longer, visible | sphaerocephala |
| | sphaerocephala but Inflor 3 cm long,1-1.5 cm | sphaerocephala |
| | wide | v. tarijensis |
| 21 (1) | INFLORESCENCE | Reduced to 1 sessile flower. | 28 |
| | Many flowered. | 22 |
| 22 | LEAVES | filiform, forming a grass like tube. Inflo. To | eistetteri |
| | 5.5cm long, with up to 5 spikes | |
| | very narrow triangular, 1cm wide at base, | Xwilinskii |
| | mainly erect but branching at top, inflo simple | |
| | up to 5 lax flowered | |
| | not filiform | 22A |
| 22A | FLOWER & RHACHIS | Arranged laxly. | 27 |
| | Arranged dense distichously. | 23 |
| | Spikes sword shaped. | |
| 23 | LEAF SHEATH | Forming a bulb. | 26 |
| | Not forming a bulb. | 24 |
| 24 | INFLORESCENCE | Thin, to 8mm wide, swordshaped. | schiedeana |
| | Flower rarely red, mostly yellow. | |
| | 3 to 4 cm wide, sword shaped. | 25 |
| 25 | PETAL | 4 cm long, dark red. Inflorescence always | kegeliana |
| | single 6 - 7 cm long, 3 - 4 cm wide. | |
| | 6 cm long, lilac-violet. | concolor |
| | Inflorescence single or to 3 or 4 spikes. | |
| 26 | PLANT | Base thickened to slender flasklike. Floral | paraensis |
| | bract red or greenish yellow, dense scaled. | |
| | Petals red. | |
| | Base thickened to slender flasklike. Floral | juruana |
| | bract red or greenish yellow, dense scaled | |
| | Petals purple red, flower zygomorphic | |
| | Base oval shaped bulbose | 26A |
| 26A | LEAF | Long, thin, awllike. Leaf sheath blotched | butzii v roseiflora |
| | with brown. | |
| | Long oval shaped, with a cylindrical tip, | reclinata |
| | 4cm long and max 1 cm wide. | |
| 27 (22A) | PLANT | Base thickened to slender flasklike. Flower | flexuosa |
| | dark red. Tips of the petals widened. | |
| | Globose bulb at base. Petals form an | 27A |
| | upright tube, red sometimes blue. | |
| | ovate bulbose at base, leaves to 32 cm long | limarum |
| 27A | PETAL | With small bent back blade, red. | argentea |
| | Plant short stemmed. | |
| | Without blade virtually tubular, seldom | fuchsii |
| | red, mostly blue. Plant stemless. | |
| 28 (21) | PLANT | Long stemmed. | funckiana |
| | long stemmed, leaves strongly recurved in | funckiana |
| | their upper half to one side | var recurvifolia |
| | Stemless. | andreana |
(C) PETAL - RED / ROSE PINK