| B1 | STAMENS & STYLE | Shorter than the petals (see Fig. 3) | 10 |
| Longer than the petals (see Fig. 3) | 2 | ||
| B2 | INFLORESCENCE | Simple. (see Fig. 1) | 3 |
| Compound (see Fig. 2) | 4 | ||
| B3 | PLANT | With long stems | albida |
| Stemless | 3A | ||
| B3A | FLOWER STEM | Long.Flowers very lax, inflorescence elongate, rhachis geniculate, petals greenish-white | fresnilloensis |
| Long. Flowers dense, Inflorescence oval-shaped, Rhachis just visible. Petals appendaged, white | 3B | ||
| Missing | ionantha (druid form) | ||
| B3B | FLOWER STEM BRACT | Recurved away from stem | Vriesea poenulata |
| Erect, hugging the stem | Vriesea flammea | ||
| B4 | FLOWER STEM | Long | 6 |
| Very short, masked by the leaves | 5 | ||
| B5 | LEAF | Green. Inflorescence densely ellipsoid | moscosoi |
| With coarse grey scales | 5A | ||
| B5A | INFLORESCENCE | Upright, nestling in the leaves, densely egg shaped | plagiotropica |
| Pointing downwards. Floral bract rose, sparsely scaled | matudae | ||
| B6 | FLORAL BRACT & FLOWER |
Arranged densely on rhachis. Spike swordshaped | polystachia |
| Arranged laxly on rhachis | 7 | ||
| B7 | RHACHIS | Strongly angled in zigzag form. Floral bract maroon | limbata |
| Not angled in zigzag form. The internodes at the most lightly bent. | 8 | ||
| B8 | LEAF | With coarse grey scales, 15-20cm long. Plant freely offsetting. | utriculata ssp. pringlei |
| With minute pale appressed scales. To 100cm long. Plant rarely offsetting. | utriculata ssp. utriculata | ||
| 9 | not used | ||
| B10 | INFLORESCENCE | Simple | 42 |
| Compound | 11 | ||
| B11 | SEPAL | Symetrical | 26 |
| Asymetrical (Racinaea and flowers generally very small) |
12 | ||
| B12 | FLORAL BRACT | Shorter than the sepals | 19 |
| Equalling or longer than the sepals | 13 | ||
| B13 | FLOWER | Arranged laxly on the rhachis | 15 |
| Arranged closely on the rhachis | 14 | ||
| B14 | FLORAL BRACT | Red. Bottom of the plant thickened bulblike. Leaf edge wavy | Racinaea undulifolia (was crispa) |
| Green. Bottom of the plant not thickened, bulblike. Leaf edge smooth. | Racinaea spiculosa | ||
| B15 | FLOWER | Twisted on one side | 18 |
| Not twisted on one side | 16 | ||
| B16 | FLOWER | Spreading | Racinaea insularis |
| Upright | 17 | ||
| B17 | ROSETTE LEAVES | Tongue shaped | Racinaea tenuispica |
| Thin triangular | Racinaea pugiformis | ||
| B18 | FLOWER | Twisted upwards | Racinaea fraseri |
| Twisted downwards | Racinaea pectinata | ||
| B19 | FLOWER | Arranged laxly. Rhachis visible | 21 |
| Arranged closely. Spike 15-20 flowered | Racinaea multiflora | ||
| 20 | Not used | ||
| B21 | FLORAL BRACT | Dense appressed scales | Racinaea pallidoflavens |
| Naked or sparsely scaled | 22 | ||
| B22 | PLANT | Thickening bulblike at base | 22A |
| Not thickening bulblike at base | 23 | ||
| B22A | SCAPE BRACT | Longer than the internodes | Racinaea parviflora var. expansa |
| Shorter than the internodes | Racinaea commixa | ||
| B23 | LEAF TIPS | Narrow not rounded | 25 |
| Rounded with spiny tip | 24 | ||
| B24 | FLOWER | Erect adjacent to rhachis | Racinaea tenuispica |
| Spreading around the rhachis | Racinaea insularis | ||
| B25 | FLOWER | Arranged distichously | 25A |
| Arranged in 3 lines |
patriae (Now Catopsis minimiflora) |
||
| B25A | SEPALS | and Floral bracts brown scaled to scattered brown scales | Racinaea flexuosa |
| and Floral bracts whitish scaled to glabrous | Racinaea multiflora | ||
| B26 | PLANT | Stemless | 29 |
| With a stem | 27 | ||
| B27 | PLANT | Long stem,spike erect | 27A |
| Short stem, Petals with toothed edges appendaged |
Vriesea crenulipetala | ||
| Short stem. Petals not tooth edged or appendaged | 28 | ||
| B27A | LEAF | 8mm wide, narrow triangular, blades recurving. Flower stem to 7 cm long | reichenbachii |
| 2 cm wide, narrow lancelike. | 27B | ||
| B27B | INFLORESCENCE | lax, leaves grey green. Plant not secund | buchlohii |
| Sub globose, leaves grey, plant secund. Petals white according to Leme(BSI J. 1987 p221) | gardneri v. rupicola | ||
| B28 | SEPAL | To 1.4 cm long. Floral bract shiny red. Spike almost erect or spreading bent | vernicosa |
| To 1.8 cm long. Floral bract red or green. Spike widely spreading | lorentziana | ||
| B29 | FLOWER STEM | Very short | 39 |
| Long, visible | 30 | ||
| B30 | PETAL | Long, thin, oar shaped, laxly hanging, greenish white, stamens visible, but not longer than the petal. | grandis |
| Not hanging | 31 | ||
| B31 | PLANT | With thin grasslike leaves | 31A |
| Not with thin grasslike leaves | 32 | ||
| B31A | INFLORESCENCE | Long and narrow | remota |
| more or less globose | globosa | ||
| B32 | LEAF | Dense grey to silver grey scaled | 36 |
| Green | 33 | ||
| B33 | FLORAL BRACT | Red | 38 |
| Other colours | 34 | ||
| B34 | FLORAL BRACT | Other than wholely red or green | 35 |
| Green, to 2 cm long, longer than the sepals | elongata | ||
| B35 | FLORAL BRACT | Bottom and middle red, top white | stenoura v. mauroi |
| Reddish brown to tan | venusta | ||
| B36 | FLORAL BRACT | Dense grey scales | didisticha |
| Naked | 37 | ||
| B37 | LEAF SHEATH | Almost disc shaped, dark brown scales | bismarckii |
| Not clearly developed, grey scaled | vernicosa | ||
| B38 | SPIKE | 6 cm wide,velvet like, light red | dyeriana |
| 1 cm wide,shiny red | vernicosa | ||
| B39 | INFLORESCENCE | Thick, short, capitate | schreiteri |
| Not thick, short, capitate | 40 | ||
| B40 | INFLORESCENCE | Upright | bismarckii |
| Hanging or pointing downwards | 41 | ||
| B41 | INFLORESCENCE | With 3 - 7, short, dense, digitate, compound spikes. Spike 6 - 7 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, 2-4 flowering | matudae |
| ca. 9, long, thin,hanging laxly arranged, compound spike. Spike 25 - 30 cm long, 5mm wide, 20 - 30 flowering | barthlottii | ||
| B42 | INFLORESCENCE | One or two flowered spike | 42A |
| Three or more flowered | 43 | ||
| B42A | LEAF | Arranged distichously | andicola |
| Arranged in a whorl | tenuifolia | ||
| B43 | FLOWER | Arranged distichously on rhachis | 50 |
| Arranged polystichously (see Fig. 4) at bottom but distichously at top | guelzii or pucaraensis See 'Uncle Derek Says' |
||
| Arranged polystichously (see Fig. 4) | 44 | ||
| B44 | PLANT | With stem | 47 |
| Stemless | 45 | ||
| B45 | FLORAL BRACT | Greenish brown | pohliana |
| Pink red | 46 | ||
| B46 | FLOWER STEM | Very short, masked by the leaves; Inflorescence dense, almost capitate, few flowered | rosea (now stricta) |
| ca 10 cm long, hanging inflorescence, laxly flowered | recurvifolia | ||
| B47 | FLOWER STEM | Long, widely exceeds the leaves | 49 |
| Not exceeding the leaves or a few (2 - 3cm) | 48 | ||
| B48 | SEPAL | Joined at the back, 7 mm high. Plant with long stalk | 48A |
| Joined for a short way equally high. Plant with short stalk | rosea (Now stricta) |
||
| B48A | PETAL | Rippled, twisted, to 30mm long. Sepals to 18 mm. | bergeri |
| Smooth, to 20mm long. Sepals to 10mm long | tenuifolia | ||
| B49 | LEAF | Short (2 - 4 cm long) erect and hugging the stem, floral bracts yellow-green | burle-marxii |
| Short (5-6 cm long) all robust, bent to growing on one side, floral bracts pink | araujei | ||
| Long (9-11 cm long ) nearly straight or very slightly growing to one side, floral bracts green | nuptialis | ||
| B50 | FLOWER | Arranged densely on rhachis | 59 |
| Arranged laxly on the rhachis | 51 | ||
| B51 | SEPAL | Not over 2 cm long | 53 |
| Over 2 cm long | 52 | ||
| B52 | SPIKE | 6 cm wide. Floral bract orange-yellow to light cinnabar red | dyeriana |
| 2 cm wide. Floral bract red | acosta-solisii | ||
| B53 | PLANT | Stemless | 55 |
| With stem | 54 | ||
| B54 | FLORAL BRACT | Red | 54A |
| Green. Plant short stemmed | chiletensis | ||
| B54A | PLANT | Long stemmed. Floral bract pale cinnabar red | toropiensis |
| Short stemmed. Floral bract reddish brown. | bagua-grandensis | ||
| B55 | FLORAL BRACT | Longer than the sepal. Flower opening wide. | 55A |
| Shorter or equal to the sepal | 56 | ||
| B55A | FLOWER | Spaced 7 mm apart | triglochinoides |
| Spaced 2 - 3 cm apart, white with yellow eye | dodsonii | ||
| B56 | FLORAL BRACT | Not keeled | cornuta |
| Keeled to weakly keeled | 57 | ||
| B57 | RHACHIS | Hollowed on the side, therefore weakly winged | monadelpha |
| Angled | 58 | ||
| B58 | FLORAL BRACT | Twice as long as the internodes of the rhachis | narthecioides |
| Many times longer than the internodes. | scaligera | ||
| B59 | PLANT | Thickened at the base, bulblike | 70 |
| Not thickened at the base, bulblike | 60 | ||
| B60 | PLANT | With green leaves | 68 |
| With grey or silver grey scaled leaves | 61 | ||
| B61 | FLORAL BRACT | Red or dark purple | 61A |
| Green, yellowish straw colour, pink or reddish brown | 62 | ||
| B61A | FLORAL BRACT | Red | 65 |
| Dark purple, 3 - 3.5 cm long. Sepals nerved. No flower stem. | guasamayensis (Now muhriae) |
||
| B62 | PETAL | 2 cm wide, Edges wavy and serrated | xiphioides |
| Less than 2 cm wide, Edges not wavy, barely or weakly serrated | 63 | ||
| B63 | PLANT | Long stem. | 63A |
| Scarcely a short stem | 64 | ||
| B63A | FLOWER STEM | Conspicuous. Leaf short, wide to bent backward | diaguitensis |
| Inconspicuous. Leaf short, wide to bent upward | arequitae | ||
| B64 | SPIKE | To 1.5 cm wide, flower stem straight, spike flattend | lorentziana |
| To 2.5 cm wide, floral bracts glabrous, broadly-obtuse | micans | ||
| To 1.5 cm wide, flower stem bent, spike oval shaped in cross section, floral bracts lepidote and apiculate. | boliviensis | ||
| B65 | PLANT | No stem, bottom almost bulb forming. Floral bract dark red, grey scaled | hemkeri |
| With stem | 66 | ||
| B66 | PLANT | Dense feathery scales | balsasensis |
| No feathery scales | 67 | ||
| B67 | PLANT | Long stemmed. | 67A |
| Short stemmed. Leaf 1.8 cm wide. Back sepals joined a short way | bermejoensis | ||
| B67A | LEAF | Thin, 5-8 mm wide, 10-15 cm long Sepals pinkish | caulescens |
| Narrow, 15 mm wide, 9 cm long. Sepals light green. | muhriae (see also guasamayensis) |
||
| B68 | PLANT | Long stemmed | caulescens |
| Stemless | 69 | ||
| B69 | FLORAL BRACT | 5 cm long | heterophylla |
| 1.7 cm long | scaligera | ||
| B70 | FLORAL BRACT | Red. Sepal asymmetrical | Racinaea crispa |
| Dark red, grey scaled. Sepal symmetrical. | hemkeri | ||