Merostachys, Sprengel, 1825

Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo, Clark, Lynn G., Mejía-Saulés, Teresa & Hernández, Francisco Lorea-, 2018, A new species of Merostachys (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae: Arthrostylidiinae) with the northernmost distribution of the genus, Phytotaxa 344 (1), pp. 31-38 : 35

Key to the species of Merostachys in Mesoamerica based on reproductive characters.

1. Inflorescences of 1 to 8 spikelets; spikelets solitary ...................................................................................................... M. pauciflora

1. Inflorescences of 10 to 30 spikelets: spikelets solitary or paired.......................................................................................................2

2. Spikelets solitary or paired, lacking lower glumes, the upper glumes 1.5–3.5 mm long; fertile lemmas 9.5–10 mm long ................ ............................................................................................................................................................................................ M. latifolia

2. Spikelets solitary, with both lower and upper glumes, the upper glumes 8–9 mm long; fertile lemmas 12–14 mm long................... ......................................................................................................................................................................................... M. mexicana