Heads solitary or variously clustered, sessile or pedunculate; heads cylindrical to subglobose; involucral bracts multiseriate, stiff and scarious with flattened claw, the inner often with white or coloured radiating laminas; receptacle flat to conical, glabrous [or hairy], naked [or with thin receptacle bracts]. Florets 1–numerous, bisexual or the outer female, the innermost sometimes male. Corollas tubular or funnel-shaped above, ± actinomorphic. Anthers with weak filiform tails. Style branches truncate to triangular, papillose.
Achenes hairy; pappus of several narrowly to broadly plumose bristles, persistent or caducous, not breaking evenly above base.
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Heads with white or coloured radiating bracts | 2 |
| Heads without white or coloured radiating bracts | 12 |
| 2 | Branches cottony or woolly, sometimes sparsely so; leaves lacking sessile globose glands | 3 |
| Branches glabrous, or hairy only below involucre; leaves with sessile globose glands
Back to 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Achenes minutely hirsute; leaves filiform, 4–8 mm long; involucre turbinate, woolly | Rhodanthe polyphylla |
| Achenes silky-pilose; leaves various, to 4 mm long; involucre various
Back to 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Heads narrow-cylindrical to ellipsoid, sessile; radiating tip to bracts less than 1 mm long | Rhodanthe pygmaea |
| Heads cup-shaped to hemispherical or turbinate; radiating tip to bracts more than 1 mm long
Back to 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Heads hemispherical, c. 10 mm long, involucral bracts glabrous; heads mostly solitary on leafy branches | 6 |
| Heads cup-shaped or turbinate; involucral bracts sparsely woolly or woolly-ciliate; heads clustered
Back to 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Outer involucral bracts pale brown; pappus bristles free | Rhodanthe stuartiana |
| Outer involucral bracts white; pappus bristles united into a tube towards base
Back to 5 | Rhodanthe floribunda |
| 7 | Plant only sparsely woolly; pappus bristles united into a tube towards base, falling as a whole | Rhodanthe troedelii |
| Plant obviously woolly; pappus bristles free, persistent
Back to 5 | 8 |
| 8 | Radiating laminas of involucre 4–7 mm long | Rhodanthe corymbiflora |
| Radiating laminas of involucre c. 2 mm long
Back to 7 | Rhodanthe microglossa |
| 9 | Leaves not ciliate; annuals | 10 |
| Leaves scabrous-ciliate; perennials
Back to 2 | Rhodanthe anthemoides |
| 10 | Leaves sparsely hispid with short crinkly white hairs; rays white (yellow in Griffith area) | Rhodanthe diffusa |
| Leaves glabrous apart from sessile spherical glands; rays white or yellow
Back to 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Heads narrowly cup-shaped; rays white | Rhodanthe stricta |
| Heads hemispherical; rays yellow
Back to 10 | Rhodanthe polygalifolia |
| 12 | Heads c. 7 mm long, leaves linear-triquetrous | Rhodanthe pygmaea |
| Heads 3–5 mm long, leaves linear to obovate
Back to 1 | 13 |
| 13 | Leaves glabrous or sparsely villous | Rhodanthe laevis |
| Leaves cottony or woolly
Back to 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Heads densely woolly with 1 floret | Rhodanthe uniflora |
| Heads glabrous or bracts woolly-ciliate; 2 or more florets
Back to 13 | 15 |
| 15 | Heads with 2 or 3 florets, enveloped in wool | Rhodanthe moschata |
| Heads with c. 10 florets not covered in wool
Back to 14 | Rhodanthe tietkensii |
