Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite or whorled, mostly leathery or scleromorphic; generally simple with entire or toothed margins, sometimes pinnatisect, or rarely compound; stipules absent.
Inflorescences basically racemose (often leafy in Persoonia), sometimes dense and head-like or compound (conflorescences); conflorescences raceme-like, often condensed and either cone-like or spike-like, with flowers commonly in pairs; flower pairs often shortly stalked, small bracts frequently below the pair and individual flowers. Flowers usually bisexual, actinomorphic to strongly zygomorphic. Perianth usually of 4 petaloid tepals, free, cohering into a tube or fused and ± strap-shaped. Stamens usually 4, usually all fertile; filaments partly or wholly fused to the tepals; anthers 2-locular, dehiscence usually introrse by longitudinal slits, rarely half of the anther does not develop. Hypogynous glands often present, fleshy or scale-like, usually 4, free and alternating with the tepals, or sometimes absent or fused. Gynoecium of 1 carpel; ovary superior, 1-locular, ovules 1-many; style simple, usually long, commonly expanded below or aroundthe small stigma into a pollen presenter.
Fruit either a dehiscent woody or leathery follicle or a drupe or an indehiscent fleshy drupe-like fruit or small nut; seeds 1-many, often winged in dehiscent fruits.
| | Key to the genera | |
| 1 | Inflorescences 7-flowered heads consisting of a central terminal flower surrounded by a ring of 6 flowers which in turn are surrounded by a conspicuous involucre; flowers red; fruit a woody follicle bearing 2 conspicuous lateral, subterminal horns. | Lambertia |
| Inflorescences not consistently 7-flowered, not terminated by a flower; involucre absent or present; flowers variously coloured; fruit dehiscent or indehsicent, only occasionally horned. | 2 |
| 2 | Flowers sessile in dense cone-like, globose to cylindrical inflorescences or conflorescences, the bracts becoming woody in fruit. | 3 |
| flowers pedicellate to sessile, but not in cone-like, globose to cylindrical inflorescences or conflorescences; bracts not becoming woody.
Back to 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Flowering and fruiting conflorescence axis usually >5 cm long and with flowers borne in pairs; fruit a persistent, transversely orientated follicle; leaves usually toothed or less frequently entire. | Banksia |
| Flowering and fruiting inflorescence axis usually <5 cm long and with flowers borne singly on axis; fruit a caducous, radially or bilaterally symmetrical nut; leaves usually divided into segments or rarely entire;
Back to 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Cone scales falling with the fruits, nuts not strongly compressed; inflorescences globose, perianth tube not split to the base. | Isopogon |
| Cone scales firmly adhering to the rachis and opening to release the flattened nuts; inflorescences longer than broad, perianth tube split to base.
Back to 3 | Petrophile |
| 5 | Leaves opposite or whorled or pseudo-whorled. | 6 |
| Leaves alternate.
Back to 2 | 9 |
| 6 | Fruit falling at maturity, either indehiscent or a tardily dehiscent, leathery, globose follicle, <3 cm long. | 7 |
| Fruit persistent on plant for several to many years, a woody follicle, ellipsoid to pear-shaped, >5 cm long.
Back to 5 | Xylomelum |
| 7 | Flowers borne in regular, sessile or shortly pedunculate pairs on the inflorescence axis; style-tip swollen, functioning as a pollen presenter. | 8 |
| Flowers borne singly in the axils of scale leaves or leaves in racemose or capituliform inflorescences; style-tip not swollen, not functioning as a pollen presenter.
Back to 6 | Persoonia |
| 8 | Perianth strongly zygomorphic; hypogynous glands free, 4 or 2; pericarp fleshy, red to purple to blue. | Triunia |
| Perianth actinomorphic; hypogynous glands connate, forming a ring around ovary; pericarp leathery, green to brown or greyish .
Back to 7 | Macadamia |
| 9 | Perianth strongly zygomorphic. | 10 |
| Perianth actinomorphic or almost so.
Back to 5 | 17 |
| 10 | Flowers in dense, erect, head-like conflorescences surrounded by an involucre of enlarged bracts; tepals glabrous. | Telopea |
| Flowers not in condensed head-like conflorescences surrounded by involucral bracts, or if so (Grevillea polybractea), then conflorescences decurved and tepals villous outside.
Back to 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Conflorescences umbel-like with flower pairs radiating from the apex, or bearing only 1 flower pair; outer integument of ovule developing into a wing-like envelope that loosely surrounds the winged seed. | 12 |
| Conflorescences not as above; outer integument of ovule not developing into a loose envelope; seed winged or not.
Back to 10 | 13 |
| 12 | Conflorescences <10-flowered; ovules 2; seed solitary; shrubs <2 m high. | Strangea |
| Conflorescences 10–20-flowered; ovules and seeds numerous; shrubs or trees to 35 m high.
Back to 11 | Stenocarpus |
| 13 | Ovules >2; follicles with several seeds. | 14 |
| Ovules 1 or 2; fruit a small nut or a 1- or 2-seeded follicle.
Back to 11 | 15 |
| 14 | Flowers pinkish red, in short, broad, unbranched conflorescences; tepals 3–4 cm long. | Alloxylon |
| Flowers white to yellowish, in elongated, often branching conflorescences; tepals 0.5–1.5 cm long.
Back to 13 | Lomatia |
| 15 | Fruit a follicle; flowers borne in regular, sessile pairs on the conflorescence axis; style tip functioning as a pollen presenter, usually swollen and often oblique. | 16 |
| Fruit a small nut crowned with a ring of hairs; flowers borne singly on the inflorescence axis; style tip not modified as a pollen presenter.
Back to 13 | Conospermum |
| 16 | Follicles woody with secondary thickening formed by a cambium layer; leaves terete or both surfaces similar. | Hakea |
| Follicles thin, crustaceous or leathery; leaves not terete (although subterete with a ridge on the upper surface in G. nematophylla), usually with upper and lower surfaces different.
Back to 15 | Grevillea |
| 17 | Style tip not modified as a pollen presenter; fruit indehiscent, either a drupe or a small nut; flowers borne singly on the inflorescence axis, not regularly paired. | 18 |
| Style tip functioning as a pollen presenter (except in Orites), usually swollen and often oblique; fruit usually a follicle or occasionally indehiscent; flowers borne in regular, sessile or shortly pedunculate pairs on the conflorescence axis.
Back to 9 | 19 |
| 18 | Leaves divided into segments; fruit a nut. | Symphionema |
| Leaves entire; fruit a drupe.
Back to 17 | Persoonia |
| 19 | Nectary a solitary horseshoe-shaped gland; seeds winged at each end or with a terminal elaiosome (oil body); shrubs of inland mallee and shrubland or coastal sandy heath. | 20 |
| Nectary composed of 4 free glands that alternate with the tepals; seed winged at one end or wingless, lacking an elaiosome; small to large trees of rainforest or rainforest margins or shrubs of alpine shrubland and woodland.
Back to 17 | 21 |
| 20 | Leaves entire; follicles 3–4 cm long; grows in coastal heath north from Byron Bay area, NC. | Strangea |
| Leaves bipinnatisect; follicles usually <3 cm long; inland communities in the Griffith area, CWS SWP (only one species G. anethifolia).
Back to 19 | Grevillea |
| 21 | Leaves usually >35 cm long, pinnate to pinnatisect with prickly, toothed margins; fruit indehiscent, bright red when ripe. | Hicksbeachia |
| Leaves <35 cm long, simple to deeply divided, with entire or toothed margins; fruit dehiscent or if indehiscent then not bright red.
Back to 19 | 22 |
| 22 | Apex of styles not enlarged; fruit a follicle. | Orites |
| Apex of styles swollen, modified as a pollen presenter; fruit indehiscent.
Back to 21 | 23 |
| 23 | Leaves entire and >4 times as long as broad; mature fruit brown, 2–4 cm diam. | Floydia |
| Leaves toothed or if entire then <4 times as long as broad; mature fruit blue to black, 1–1.5 cm diam.
Back to 22 | Helicia |
