| 1 | Inflorescence up to 10 mm long; cymules mostly 1-flowered |
| 1' | Inflorescence more than 10 mm long; cymules mostly 3-flowered |
| 2 | Plants with normally developed and rudimentary leaves in successive pairs; normal leaves 5-40 mm long; inflorescences mostly terminal, with 3-16 pairs of cymules |
| 2' | Plants seemingly sparsely leafy or leafless, with rudimentary leaves produced at most or all nodes; normal leaves 30-50 mm long; inflorescences mostly axillary, mostly with 2 or 3 pairs of cymules |
| 3 | Bracteoles densely fimbriate, forming a tuft of white hairs surrounding the flowers; spikes 80-200 mm long with internodes 8-20 mm long; fruit white |
| 3' | Bracteoles entire or serrate; spikes 20-90 mm long with internodes 2-7 mm long; fruit yellow to red |
| 4 | Normal leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, less than 10 mm wide 1. |
| 4' | Normal leaves narrowly to broadly ovate or elliptic, more than 10 mm wide... |
| 5 | Normal leaves thickly coriaceous, broadly elliptic or broadly ovate; rudimentary leaves 2-4 mm above each leafy node, ragged at the margin; spikes 20-35 mm long with 8-10 pairs of cymules |
| 5' | Normal leaves thinly coriaceous, narrowly ovate to ovate; rudimentary leaves mostly 7-25 mm above each leafy node, entire at the margin; spikes 30-90 mm long with 9-40 pairs of cymules |
