a	Flowers in umbellate clusters (rhipidia) enclosed by a pair of opposed leafy bracts (spathes), rarely solitary on peduncles, or plants acaulescent but then style either dividing below anthers into tangentially compressed, petal-like branches or dividing below or above base of anthers and obscurely 3-lobed apically, lobes entire or fringed Individual flowers sessile or pedicellate Flowers with tepals free to basally connate, or united in an extended tube Rootstock a woody caudex, a rhizome, or a corm
	b	Flowers arranged in spikes, or flowers solitary on peduncles, sometimes in pseudopanicles, or acaulescent, individual flowers always sessile and style branches filiform, simple or deeply divided Flowers with tepals united below in a tube Rootstock a corm

	a	Plants evergreen shrubs with woody aerial stems Rootstock a woody caudex Individual flowers sessile and tepals always united in a well-developed tube and lasting at least 2 days
	b	Plants perennial, either with herbaceous aerial stems or acaulescent, sometimes evergreen Rootstock a rhizome or corm Individual flowers stalked or sessile, tepals free, basally connate, or united in a tube, lasting 1 day, or 2 or more days

	a	Inflorescence compound, forming a compressed capitulum enclosed by enlarged green or coloured leaves Tepals linear-spathulate, longer than the perianth tube	Klattia
	b	Inflorescence either compound, forming branched panicles or corymbs, or flowers borne in isolated pairs, enclosed in green or brown spathes Tepals oblong to ovate, longer or shorter than the perianth tube

	a	Flowers shades of blue Tepals patent, not villous on outside Stamens and/or style well exserted from flower, sometimes species heterostylous	Nivenia
	b	Flowers green to blackish with tepals yellow on reverse Tepals remaining closed during flowering, densely villous on outside Stamens included in flower	Witsenia

	a	Style eccentric, apically notched or lobed, lobes sometimes fringed Flowers usually deep blue (occasionally lilac, white or pale blue) Tepals shortly connate basally	Aristea
	b	Style central, usually dividing near base of anthers into distinct branches, these either extending between anthers or appressed against them, sometimes style exceeding anthers Flowers variously coloured Tepals free, connate basally or united in a tube

	a	Rootstock a creeping or erect rhizome Plants evergreen Pedicels hairy above
	b	Rootstock a corm Plants deciduous Pedicels without hairs near apices or pedicels lacking (flowers sessile)

	a	Tepals with well-defined ascending claws and spreading limbs, outer tepals larger than inner Style branches broad and petal-like, compressed tangentially, terminating in paired erect crests Anthers appressed to abaxial side of style branches	Dietes
	b	Tepals not clawed, inner and outer whorls subequal Style branches filiform, spreading horizontally Anthers ascending, alternating with style branches	Bobartia

	a	Leaves unifacial, oriented edgewise to stem Corm persisting for some years, with membranous tunics or tunics 0 Tepals with crisped edges Style branches terminating in a feathery, plumose tuft	Ferraria
	b	Leaves bifacial or terete Corm resorbed annually, with fibrous tunics Tepals with plane edges Style branches not feathery and plumose, rarely so but then other characters not as above	Moraea

	a	Outer and inner bracts membranous to scarious, usually translucent to transparent with veins often darkly coloured, occasionally outer solid below but then margins lacerate
	b	Outer and inner bracts green to brown and dry, soft-textured or firm to leathery, never lacerate, sometimes inner bracts with broad membranous to scarious margins

	a	Plants acaulescent Leaves usually entirely bifacial, usually channelled to adaxially grooved, sometimes terete Bracts tubular below Corm tunics woody Flowers shades of blue to purple	Syringodea
	b	Plants with stems aerial or acaulescent Leaves unifacial, oriented edgewise to stem, blades plane and linear to lanceolate or oval to terete in transverse section Bracts with margins free to base or united below Corm tunics woody or papery to fibrous Flowers variously coloured

	a	Leaves centric, oval in transverse section with 4 longitudinal grooves Flowers dusty pink, actinomorphic with stamens twisted anticlockwise Roggeveld Escarpment (Northern Cape: Sutherland District) Flowering in December	Devia
	b	Leaves flat or rarely centric but then solid, without longitudinal grooves Flowers variously coloured, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, but stamens never twisted sideways

	a	Bracts pale, dry, papery and crinkled or solid, irregularly streaked with dark flecks or veins
	b	Bracts pale or rust-coloured, membranous or dry, then not papery and crinkled, sometimes streaked with dark flecks or veins

	a	Flowers usually drooping, on wiry stems Leaves linear, narrow, tough and fibrotic Mostly summer-rainfall area, Humansdorp (Eastern Cape) to Ethiopia	Dierama
	b	Flowers not drooping, upright or facing to side, on firm, somewhat succulent stems Leaves lanceolate, relatively succulent and without fibres Winter-rainfall area, Nieuwoudtville (Northern Cape) to Riversdale (Western Cape)	Sparaxis

	a	Flowers zygomorphic with stamens unilateral or tepals actinomorphic but stamens irregularly spreading and style eccentric Stems firm and relatively thick, never wiry	Tritonia
	b	Flowers either actinomorphic with stamens erect and symmetrically disposed around a central style, or perianth regular but stamens unilateral with anthers drooping and with a right-angled bend near base Stems more or less wiry, branches, when present, usually held at right angles to main axis

	a	Plants acaulescent Outer floral bracts acute or attenuate Flowers bright yellow, with a long perianth tube and subterranean ovary Pollen grain apertures with a 2-banded operculum Kimberley District (Northern Cape)	Duthieastrum
	b	Plants with aerial stems Outer floral bract obtuse and irregularly fringed Flowers variously coloured and ovary aerial, or rarely acaulescent with yellow flowers and an underground ovary, but then from southern Namaqualand (Northern Cape) Pollen grain apertures with a 1-banded operculum	Ixia

	a	Style branches dividing at apex of perianth tube or within tube, branches undivided, long and laxly spreading	Hesperantha
	b	Style branches usually dividing well above mouth of perianth tube, branches simple or deeply divided, relatively short and spreading to recurved

	a	Corms bell-shaped, with a flat base Leaves plane or corrugate
	b	Corms globose to obconic, round or pointed at base, or sometimes bell-shaped with a flat base but then leaves more or less terete and 4-grooved

	a	Ovary globose Style branches usually divided for ± half their length, rarely undivided or apically notched Leaves often corrugate, sometimes plane but then usually leathery in texture	Lapeirousia
	b	Ovary deeply 3-lobed above Style branches undivided Leaves plane and soft-textured	Melasphaerula

	a	Style branches deeply divided, usually once, occasionally multifid
	b	Style branches undivided or at most notched apically

	a	Leaves terete to oval in transverse section with narrow longitudinal grooves, or 4-winged Corm tunics composed of brittle, woody concentric layers Flowers actinomorphic, solitary on branches, not arranged in spikes or plants acaulescent	Romulea
	b	Leaves usually with plane blades or round in transverse section but without longitudinal grooves Corm tunics of coriaceous to fibrous layers Flowers zygomorphic or if actinomorphic then arranged in spikes and plants never acaulescent

	a	Flowers solitary on branches Leaves prostrate, soft in texture	Xenoscapa
	b	Flowers arranged in erect or inclined spikes Leaves usually erect, occasionally prostrate, not noticeably soft in texture

	a	Spikes inclined to horizontal, flowers borne on upper side Bracts green or dry above, and then often dark brown at apices	Freesia
	b	Spikes erect, flowers distichous or spirally arranged Bracts green or partly to entirely dry but then never dark brown at apices

	a	Flowers small, shorter than 12 mm, crowded on dense distichous spikes Bracts solid below with broad membranous margins	Micranthus
	b	Flowers medium to large, usually at least 20 mm long, in distichous or spiral spikes Bracts without membranous margins

	a	Spikes distichous Leaf blades plane, relatively broad, margins moderately to strongly thickened Flowers never blue or purple Perianth tube always curved, flowers thus facing to side	Watsonia
	b	Spikes spiral Leaf blades rounded in section or plane but then narrow and without thickened margins Flowers shades of blue to nearly white or purple Perianth tube straight, flowers facing upward	Thereianthus

	a	Inflorescence a panicle, individual flowers always with a peduncle Flowers actinomorphic, bright orange	Pillansia
	b	Inflorescence a simple or branched spike, flowers sessile, rarely inflorescence reduced to a single flower Flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic, variously coloured

	a	Floral bracts fairly short, coriaceous and often partly to entirely dry at flowering time, inner bracts always substantially longer than outer Leaves sometimes with a long pseudopetiole, usually with more than one prominent vein, thus without a midrib	Tritoniopsis
	b	Characters not combined as above

	a	Leaves several in a distichous fan, blades plane or plicate but then leaves, stems or bracts never pubescent Flowers shades of orange to scarlet Floral bracts short, ± twice as long as ovary, coriaceous, green or dry, nearly equal
	b	Characters not combined as above

	a	Flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic but then perianth tube not abruptly expanded at top of lower cylindric portion and upper part not forming a pouch at base Seeds dark brown to blackish	Crocosmia
	b	Flowers zygomorphic, perianth tube narrow and cylindric below, abruptly expanded into a broad upper cylindrical part and pouched at base of upper part Seeds bright orange	Chasmanthe

	a	Leaf blades pleated, sometimes ± linear and striate Stems and/or leaves or bracts pubescent to pilose	Babiana
	b	Leaf blades plane, corrugated or rounded in transverse section with or without 4 longitudinal grooves Plants glabrous or sometimes pubescent on leaves and/or bracts

	a	Flowers actinomorphic or if zygomorphic then perianth actinomorphic and stamens unilateral and declinate Corm tunics usually composed of hard, brittle woody layers Seeds globose to somewhat angular	Geissorhiza
	b	Flowers zygomorphic, tepals usually unequal and stamens unilateral and arcuate (actinomorphic in 2 species but then leaves without thickened margins and seeds winged) Seeds either globose or winged

	a	Seeds globose Leaves soft-textured Stems lightly angled	Radinosiphon
	b	Seeds usually with a broad circumferential wing, occasionally wing obsolete and seed irregularly angled to subglobose Leaves various, occasionally soft-textured Stem always round in section	Gladiolus