| 1 | Fruits capsular, consisting of 3 mericarps, separately attached to the receptacle, or basally connate for a conspicuous part; seeds winged; wood rays wide, appearing as spokes of a wheel (use lens), rings or islands of included phloem absent (Hippocrateoideae). |
| 1' | Fruits drupaceous; seeds not winged, often imbedded in mucilaginous pulp; wood rays narrow, inconspicuous (use lens), often wide rings of included phloem or small phloem islands present (Salacioideae). |
| 2 | Plants (dry) scabrous throughout. |
| 2' | Plants not scabrous, glabrous or sometimes inflorescence puberulous. |
| 3 | Mericarps connate for more than 2 cm. |
| 3' | Mericarps separately attached to the receptacle. |
| 4 | Pericarp coriaceous to woody; mericarps large, strongly convex, suborbicular, obovate, less often ellipsoid, 5-10 cm long, 5-10 cm broad. |
| 4' | Pericarp thin-coriaceous; mericarps flattened, elliptic, 4-8 cm long, 1.5-3 cm broad. |
| 5 | Leaf base rounded or attenuate, decurrent into the petiole; secondary veins 5-7 per side; mericarps broadly obovate to suborbicular; embryoniferous part of seed 2-2.5 x 1.5-2 cm; reduced wing or stipe to 5-10 x 5 mm. |
| 5' | Leaf base (sub)cordate; secondary veins 7-l 0 per side; mericarps elliptic, ovate or obovate, rounded or emarginate at apex; embryoniferous part of seed 3-8.5 x 1.5-2 cm; wing narrow, ca. 4 cm long. |
| 6 | Wing of the seed much shorter than the embryoniferous part, sometimes expanded laterally. |
| 6' | Wing of the seed much longer than the embryoniferous part, (except in Pristimera tenuiflora). |
| 7 | Inflorescence tomentellous, cymosely paniculate; leaves usually drying brownish, tertiary venation mconspicuous. |
| 7' | Inflorescence glabrous, (pseudo-)dichotomously branched; leaves usually drying greenish, tertiary venation prominulous. |
| 8 | Pericarp thin-coriaceous, bluish pruinose; fruits often apple-shaped, broader than long or ellipsoid. |
| 8' | Pericarp coriaceous or woody, if leathery then not bluish pruinose. |
| 9 | Leaf apex acute to cuspidate or acuminate. |
| 9' | Leaf apex emarginate, rounded, obtuse or shortly apiculate or mucronulate. |
| 10 | Secondary veins 11-18 per side. |
| 10' | Secondary veins 5-11 per side. |
| 11 | Fruit cylindrical, to 16 x 5 cm; seeds 12-24 |
| 11' | Fruits somewhat trigonous, ellipsoid to globose; seeds 6 or less. |
| 12 | Fruits with bands, lines or ridges from the base. |
| 12' | Fruits smooth, lenticellate to tuberculate, but without bands, lines or ridges. |
| 13 | Fruits scrobiculate, with 3 narrow longitudinal ridges; low trees. |
| 13' | Fruits with bands or 6-10 lines originating from the base; low trees or lianas. |
| 14 | Fruits tuberculate. |
| 14' | Fruits smooth, lenticellate or rugulose. |
| 15 | Leaves coriaceous. |
| 15' | Leaves.membranous.to thin-coriaceous. |
| 16 | Leaf margin crenate-serrate. |
| 16' | Leaf margin entire. |
| 17 | Fruiting pedicel slender, 1-2 mm diam. |
| 17' | Fruiting pedicel increasing to 4 mm diam. |
| 18 | Fruit speckled. 2-2 |
| 18' | Fruit not speckled. |
| 19 | Secondary veins 9-11 per side; petiole 8-17 mm long. |
| 19' | Secondary veins 6-9 per side; petiole 4-10 mm long. |
| 20 | Tertiary veins inconspicuous beneath. |
| 20' | Tertiary veins prominulous beneath. |
| 21 | Leaf apex emarginate. |
| 21' | Leaf apex obtuse, rounded or shortly apiculate or mucronulate. |
| 22 | Leaves discolorous. |
| 22' | Leaves not conspicuously discolorous. |
| 23 | Fruits tuberculate. |
| 23' | Fruits smooth to rugulose, speckled or not. |
| 24 | Fruits white-speckled or flaky, sometimes rugulose. |
| 24' | Fruits neither speckled nor flaky, smooth or rugulose. |
| 25 | Inflorescence remnants on thickened (gemmiform) peduncle with fasciculate fruit stands. |
| 25' | Int1orescence remnants on branched fruit stands. |
