Click the number at the start of a key lead to highlight both that lead and its corresponding lead. Click again to show only the two highlighted leads. Click a third time to return to the full key with the selected leads still highlighted.
| 1 Leaves 0.6-10 cm wide; inflorescence a spike or raceme; leaf tip soft; [collectively widespread in dry habitats in our region] |
| ..2 Leaf tip spinose; leaf margins armed with strong teeth; scape 30-50 dm tall |
| ..2 Leaf tip soft; leaf margins entire, papillose, or weakly toothed; scape 2-22 dm tall. |
| ....3 Perianth lobes erect, 4-8 mm long; [collectively widespread]. |
| ......4 Anthers 13-17 (-20) mm long; perianth (including the ovary) 26-35 mm long; perianth lobes 2.5-3 mm wide at the base |
......4 Anthers 8-10 mm long; perianth (including the ovary) 20-23 mm long; perianth lobes ca. 1.5 mm wide at the base |
| ....3 Perianth lobes spreading or recurved, 7-21 mm long; [e. TX]. |
| ........5 Filaments and style included in, or exserted from the perianth tube by 5-22 mm; fresh flowers with sweet odor |
| ..........6 Filaments shorter than the perianth; perianth tube 23--36 mm long; leaf margins coarsely toothed |
| ..........6 Filaments longer than the perianth, exserted by 5-22 mm; perianth tube 6-26 mm long; leaf margins minuteky toothed |
| ........5 Filaments and style exserted from the perianth tube by 4.0-9.7 cm; fresh flowers with cooked onion odor |
| ............ 7 Leaves spreading; flowers erect, almost appressed to the inflorescence axis |
| ............ 7 Leaves erect or arching; flowers spreading from the inflorescence axis |
| 1 Leaves 5-25 cm wide; inflorescence a panicle; leaf tip spinose; [aliens planted and rarely persistent or spreading usually on barrier islands, or natives of s. peninsular FL]. |
| ............ ..8 Terminal leaf spine decurrent (the tough spine tissue extending down the margins of the leaf). |
| ............ ....9 Leaves entire or with marginal prickles towards the base of the leaf |
| ............ ....9 Leaves with stout marginal spines from base to tip. |
| ............ ......10 Leaves 10-20 dm long, 6-10× as long as wide; capsules 4-8 cm long |
| ............ ......10 Leaves 8-13.5 dm long, 4-6× as long as wide; capsules 3.5.4 cm long |
| ............ ..8 Terminal leaf spine truncate (the tough spine tissue ending abruptly, at essentially a right angle to the axis of the leaf). |
| ............ ........11 Leaves mostly recurved |
| ............ ........11 Leaves straight, erect to ascending |
| ............ ..........12 Leaves entire or with few and weak marginal spines; marginal spines < 3 mm long and < 4 mm wide |
| ............ ..........12 Leaves with marginal spines all along the margins; marginal spines > 3 mm long and to 8 mm wide |
| ............ ............ 13 Leaves variegated, or blue-green and glaucous |
| ............ ............ 13 Leaves bright green, not glaucous |