| D1 | STAMENS & STYLE | Longer than the petals. (see Fig. 3) | 17 |
| Shorter than the petals. (see Fig. 3) | 2 | ||
| D2 | FLOWER | With small asymetrical sepals. Flowers very small. | 15 |
| With symetrical sepals | 3 | ||
| D3 | PETAL | Short & upright, not long straplike, not lax to hanging. | 5 |
| Long, straplike, lax to hanging. | 4 | ||
| D4 | INFLORESCENCE | Simple. Floral bract longer than sepals | viridiflora |
| Compound. Floral bract shorter than sepals | grandis | ||
| D5 | INFLORESCENCE | Simple. | 8 |
| Compound. | 6 | ||
| D6 | LEAF SHEATH | Spreading on the stem making a funnel shaped rosette. | 6A |
| Forming a bulbose rosette. | 6B | ||
| D6A | FLOWER STEM | 1 - 2 cm long, inflorescence sunk in rosette | mauryana |
| Longer, inflorescence well above rosette. Petals appendaged | Vriesea chontalensis | ||
| D6B | LEAVES | Almost filiform | 7 |
| 3 cm wide, inflorescence hanging | Vriesea limonensis | ||
| D7 | INFLORESCENCE | On long stem, which is as long or longer than the leaf. Leaf with white feathery scales. | plumosa |
| Almost sessile. Stem much shorter than and masked by the leaves. | atroviridipetala | ||
| D8 | FLOWER STEM | Long. | 10 |
| Short. Inflorescence almost sessile | 9 | ||
| D9 | PLANT | Long filiform growth, similar to Beard Moss | usneoides |
| Rosette growth. | lepidosepala | ||
| D10 | PETAL | appendaged, Flower dense distichous. Spike sword-shaped | Vriesea chontalensis |
| Not appendaged | 11 | ||
| D11 | FLOWER | Arranged dense distichously on rhachis. Spike short swordshaped | 13 |
| Arranged laxly on rhachis. Floral stem hanging ca 5 flowers polystichous (see Fig. 4). Floral bract pink. | jucunda var. viridiflora | ||
| D12 | not used | ||
| D13 | PLANT | Base bulblike. | ignesiae |
| Base NOT bulblike. | 14 | ||
| D14 | FLORAL BRACT | 2.5 cm long, pink grey scales. Flower emerald green. | tortilis (ehrenbergii) |
| 3.5 cm long, smooth yellowish. Flower yellow green. | lotteae | ||
| D15 | FLORAL BRACT | Longer than sepals. | Racinaea tenuispica |
| Shorter than sepals. | 16 | ||
| D16 | SCAPE BRACT | Longer than the internodes. | Racinaea parviflora var. expansa |
| Small, barely half as long as the internodes. | commixa | ||
| D17 | INFLORESCENCE | Compound | 21 |
| Simple | 18 | ||
| D18 | FLOWER | Arranged in spiral on rhachis. | erubescens (benthamiana) |
| Arranged distichously. | 18A | ||
| D18A | INFLORESCENCE | Erect | 19 |
| Hanging | 18B | ||
| D18B | INFLORESCENCE | 2 cm wide | Vriesea incurva |
| 3 cm wide, bent upwards in middle | Vriesea curvispica | ||
| D19 | FLOWER | Arranged laxly on rhachis. Plant to 22 cm high, flower stem to 12 cm long | fresnilloensis or karwinskyana |
| Arranged closely on rhachis. Inflorescence sword shaped. | 20 | ||
| D20 | LEAF | Green, not strikingly scaled. | cryptopoda |
| Dense grey scaled. | achyrostachys | ||
| D21 | PLANT | With hanging inflorescence. | 21A |
| With erect inflorescence. | 22 | ||
| D21A | SPIKE | Side spikes almost parallel | 21C |
| Side spikes at right angles | 21B | ||
| D21B | FLOWER STEM | 20 cm long, inflorescence to 10 cm long | alfredo-laui |
| 50 cm long, inflorescence 30 - 60 cm long | prodigiosa | ||
| D21C | SCAPE | 3 - 6 cm long, inflorescence 18 - 25 cm long, spikes long, floral bracts not keeled | Vriesea incurva |
| 17 - 21 cm long, inflorescence 24 - 30 cm long, spikes long, floral bracts keeled | Vriesea castaneobulbosa | ||
| To 20 cm long, Inflorescence to 14 cm long, spikes very short, to 3 cm long hidden by the primary bracts which have wavy edges | Vriesea strobelii | ||
| D22 | SPIKE | Narrow to 15 mm wide, petals green with violet speckles | Vriesea cereicola |
| Narrow and zigzag angled, floral bracts maroon, flowers lax | limbata | ||
| Sword shaped. | 22A | ||
| D22A | RHACHIS | visible, leaf rosette narrow funnel form | parryi |
| Not visible | 23 | ||
| D23 | FLOWER STEM | Short, not taller than the leaf rosette, one or two spikes, petals yellow-green | cryptopoda |
| short, about equalling rosette, 7 - 13 spikes, petals yellow-green | mixtecorum | ||
| Long, exceeds the leaf rosette. | 23A | ||
| D23A | PRIMARY BRACT | Hides bottom spikes. Petal yellow green | 23B |
| Smaller than bottom spikes. | 24 | ||
| D23B | INFLORESCENCE | 30 to 45 cm long. Primary bracts pink | cossonii |
| To 17cm long. Primary bracts pale green beneath reddish above. | carlos-hankii | ||
| D24 | FLORAL BRACT | Naked, shiny green to yellowish green. | 24A |
| Grey scaled. | 24B | ||
| D24A | INFLORESCENCE | To 25 cm long with up to 8 spikes | roland-gosselinii |
| To 10cm long with mainly 4 but up to 6 spikes | rothii (hybrid ?) | ||
| D24B | PRIMARY BRACT | Broadly oval shaped with the bottom ones having a long awllike tip. | bourgaei |
| With no long awllike tip. | 24C | ||
| D24C | FLOWER STEM | To 20 cm long. Floral bract green with scaled red top. | schusteri |
| To 55 cm long. Floral bract pink, grey scaled | roseoscapa | ||