| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Flowers in clusters that are either distant along the rachis of the inflorescence or, more rearely, few or solitary at the apex of the culm, each cluster in the axil of a broad bract; cauline sheaths appressed except where subtending a branch, 5–15 mm long, bearing a small to long (towards the base), terete or flat, usually reflexed but caducous lamina, 1–27 mml ong | Sporadanthus caudatus |
| Flowers not in widely separated clusters, inflorescence panicle-like or small, narrow and spike-like; cauline sheaths not as above | 2 |
| 2 | Outer tepals shorter than the inner, not exceeding 2.3 mm long; inner tepals reddish when fresh; bracts and glumes very thin, soon breaking up, inconspicuous | Sporadanthus gracilis |
| Outer and inner tepals about equal in length, 2.5–4 mm long, whitish or straw-coloured; bracts and glumes persistent, often conspicuous
Back to 1 | Sporadanthus interruptus |
