This key includes the 41 taxa in this treatment, as well as Endlicheria metallica Kostermans and allied species, which have, on the basis of vegetative characters, been commonly confused with species of the R. grandis-complex.  Any flowering Lauraceae specimen identified to Rhodostemonodaphne using the generic key provided by van der Werff (1991a) may be identified to species here.  Note that R. revolutifolia will key out in the generic key to Endlicheria, because its outer anthers have two locelli.  Users should remember that measurements of the length of the leaf blade do not include the length of the acumen.  An indication of geographical range is given for most species, primarily as a confirmatory character.  Colors, when used, are those observed on the dried specimens.  Only where the species are endemic to readily distinctive geographical areas or habitats (e.g., tepuis), or in they case of well-known disjunct distributions (e.g., Andes/eastern Amazonia–Atlantic rain forest), is geography used as a key character.

1. Twigs, leaves, and inflorescences silver to golden sericeous, the hairs always straight and , appressed (look at young organs under 25X magnification). 2

1. Twigs, leaves, and inflorescences not sericeous, either glabrous, puberulous, tomentose, or pubescent, the hairs variously colored, straight to crisped, erect to spreading,  to but not appressed. 9

2. Indument Leaf lamina soon glabrescent; mature leaf blades normally less than 10 cm long, the base cuneate, the secondary veins almost perpendicular to primary vein. 3

2. Indument on leaf lamina persisting at least on lower surface of leaves of current flush; mature leaf blades more than (7-)10 cm long, the base acute to rounded, the secondary veins forming an acute angle with the primary vein. 4

3. Large trees; leaf venation flat and inconspicuous on both surfaces; lowlands, French Guiana. R. elephantopus

3. Shrubs; leaf venation raised on both surfaces (at least when dry); cloud forests, Venezuela. R. avilensis

4. Twigs stout, normally larger than 5 mm in diam. Secondary veins normally 6-10more than 7 pairs. 5

4. Twigs slender, normally smaller than 5 mm in diam. Secondary veins rarely morenormally less than 76 pairs. 6

5. Tepals erect; anthers 2-locellate; Central and Western Amazonia E. metallica & spp. aff.

5. Tepals spreading; anthers 4-locellate; Northeast South America. R. grandis

6. Tepals red; Aanthers of whorl III with conspicuous paired glands (tepals on fresh material red); French Guiana. R. saülensis

6. Tepals green or yellowish; anthers of whorl III with paired glands minute or lacking (eg. tepals on fresh material green or yellowish). 7

7. Leaf margin recurved at base; Manaus and vicinity. R. recurva

7. Leaf margin plane throughout. 8

8. Inflorescences less than 110 cm long, the pedicels ca. 2.4 mm long; tepals green; Manaus and vicinity. R. peneia

8. Inflorescences up to 16 cm long, the pedicels ca. 5.6 mm long; tepals yellowish; NE Venezuela, Guyana, and Amazonia. R. praeclara

9. All plant organs (except terminal and axillary buds) glabrous, or soon glabrescent. 10

9. All plant organs with some kind of indument persisting on current flush (if sericeous see couplet 1). 15

10. Petioles distinctly pulvinate; leaf blades undulate to bullate; Curicuriari river, Brazil. R. curicuriariensis

10. Petioles not distinctly pulvinate; leaf blades flat. 11

11. Twigs normally more than 3 mm in diam.; leaf blades normally longer than 12 cm long. 12

11. Twigs normally less than 3 mm in diam.; leaf blades normally less than 12 cm long. 13

12. Twigs drying black; inflorescences pendulous; tepals and stamens papillose; lowland forests, Pacific coast of Colombia. R. penduliflora

12. Twigs drying yellow to brown; inflorescences erect; tepals and stamens not papillose; easEtern Andean foothills. R. longipetiolata

13. Secondary veins up to 6 pairs, arising at an acute angle to the primary vein; sub-montane forests, Colombia. R. antioquiensis

13. Secondary veins normally more than 6 pairs, almost perpendicular to primary vein. 14

14. Large trees; leaf venation flat and inconspicuous on both surfaces; lowlands, French Guiana. R. elephantopus

14. Shrubs; leaf venation raised on both surfaces (at least when dry); cloud forests, Venezuela. R. avilensis

15. Plants of the summits of tepuis in the Venezuelan Guayana highlands. 16

15. Plants not of the summits of tepuis in the Venezuelan Guayana highlands. 17

16. Scandent shrubs; leaf apex attenuate, lacking a mucro; inflorescences pendulous; Auyán-tepuí. R. celiana

16. Erect shrubs; leaf apex not attenuate, with a fine, sharp mucro; inflorescences erect; Coro-Coro–Yutajé massif. R. steyermarkiana

17. Secondary veins mostly straight and parallel; tertiary veins distinctly scalariform, ca. 3 mm apart. 18

17. Secondary veins mostly arched, if parallel then not conspicuously so due to arching; tertiary veins random-reticulate or if weakly scalariform then ca. 6 mm or more apart. 19

18. Stamens long and laminar (loriform), those of whorls II and III partially fused in a ring; E Andean foothills. R. synandra

18. Stamens short and columnar, those of whorls II and III not fused; widespread. R. kunthiana

19. Indument of twigs and inflorescences red to dark reddish-brown; leaf blades below drying reddish or brownish. 20

19. Indument of twigs and inflorescences (and flowers) yellow or yellowish-brown; leaf blades below usually drying greenish. 27

20. Cataphylls persisting on mature twigs (for at least two flushes). 21

20. Cataphylls soon caducous or persisting only on current flush. 23

21. Leaf bases distinctly cordate; secondary veins fading before connecting with adjacent secondary veins, except towards the apex; Guyana. R. miranda

21. Leaf bases not distinctly cordate; secondary veins distinctly loop-connected. 22

22. Scandent shrubs; tepals ca. 5 mm long; NE South America. R. scandens

22. Shrubs to small trees; tepals up to 2 mm long; W Amazonia. R. licanioides

23. Leaves broadly elliptic, normally more than 9 cm wide. 24

23. Leaves narrowly elliptic, normally less than 9 cm wide. 25

24. Inflorescences normally more than 16 cm long and pendulous; outer anthers with lower locelli latrorse; Amazonian Ecuador. R. napoensis

24. Inflorescences up to 16 cm long and erect; outer anthers with all locelli introrse; Rio Negro and C Amazonia. R. negrensis

25. Bracts persistent at anthesis; C Amazonia. R. crenaticupula

25. Bracts soon caducous. 26

26. Flowers in bud at least 5 mm in diam.;Flowerslarger than 7 mm in diam.; Guyana. R. mirecolorata

26. Flowers in bud up to 3 mm in diam. Flowers smaller than 6 mm in diam.; Guianas. R. rufovirgata

27. Flowers urceolate; tepals at anthesis erect, leaving a small opening; E Guianas. R. morii

27. Flowers not urceolate; tepals at anthesis spreading or if erect then stamens clearly visible. 28

28. Flowers minute, ca. 2 mm in diam.; inflorescences with secondary branches clustered at the tip of the peduncle; centralC Amazonia. R. sordida

28. Flowers larger than 2 mm in diam.; inflorescences with secondary branches scattered throughout the peduncle. 29

29. Leaves glabrous or nearly so; inflorescences with up to 3 branch orders. 30

29. Leaves nearly always with some type of conspicuous indument, at least on lower surface; inflorescences normally with more than 3 branch orders, at least towards the base. 33

30. Leaf blades narrowly elliptic, more than 15 cm long; Curicuriari river, Brazil. R. curicuriariensis

30. Leaf blades (broadly) elliptic to ovate, up to 15 cm long. 31

31. Venation camptodromousbrochidodromous, all secondary veins similar; Tumucumaque range. R. tumucumaquensis

31. Venation weakly acrodromous (sub-triplinerved), the basal-most pair of secondary veins stronger than the rest. 32

32. Leaf blades up to 8 cm long; centralC Amazonia. R. parvifolia

32. Leaf blades normally longer than 8 cm; French Guiana. R. leptoclada

33. Bracts and bracteoles persistent at anthesis. 34

33. Bracts and bracteoles soon caducous before anthesis. 36

34. Mature leaves with conspicuously revolute margin; French Guiana. R. revolutifolia

34. Mature leaves with flat margin. 35

35. Leaves above light green to bluish-green, below olive-green to greenish-brown, the veins distinct yellowish; fFruits small, pedicel up to 10 mm long; C Amazonia. R. crenaticupula

35. Leaves brown, the veins concolorous; Fruits large, pedicel 20 cm long or longer, C Amazonia. R. debilis

36. Plants of the Atlantic rain forest or restinga in SE Brazil. 37

36. Plants of Amazonia or the Andes. 39

37. Flowers >7 mm diam.; anthers sessile, broad, and thick; SE Brazil. R. anomala

37. Flowers <6 mm in diam.; stamens filamentous, filiform, or spathulate. 38

38. Stamens filiform; widespread within the Atlantic rain forest. R. macrocalyx

38. Stamens spathulate; restingas of EspírituEspírito Santo. R. capixabensis

39. Flowering pedicels sharply separated from the receptacle; plants of SW Amazonia. 40

39. Flowering pedicels gradually enlarging to form the receptacle (trumpet-shaped); plants of the N Andes and E Andean slopes. 41

40. Leaf blades below nearly glabrous or with short, erect hairs only; inflorescences normally longer than the leaves; Santa Cruz, Bolivia. R. longiflora

40. Leaf blades below with mixed indument consisting of both appressed and erect hairs; inflorescences shorter than the leaves; Peru-Brazil-Bolivia border. R. dioica

41. Leaves broadly elliptic (nearly orbicular), ovate or obovate (ca. 2X longer than wide). 42

41. Leaves normally elliptic (ca. 3X longer than wide). 44

42. Anthers with variable locelli number, the two median locelli often vestigial or fused; Andes of Ecuador. R. cyclops

42. Anthers four-locellate. 43

43. Secondary veins 8–10 pairs, brochidodromous; Andes of Colombia. R. frontinensis

43. Secondary veins 10–11 pairs, eucamptodromousLeaves ovate; Andes of Venezuela. R. ovatifolia

44. Leaf blades below ves distinctly velutinous; margin recurved at base; E Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. R. velutina

44. Leaf blades below puberulous to tomentose to rarely velutinous; margin plane throughout. 45

45. Secondary veins (6–)7(–9) pairs, cupule hemispherical; C Cordillera Central, Colombia. R. laxa

45. Secondary veins 3–4(–5) pairs, cupule flat (disk-like); E Andean slopes. R. juruensis