Behria and Bessera species, Traub, 1972

Gándara, Etelvina, Ortiz-Brunel, Juan Pablo, Gómez-Hernández, Marko & Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo, 2024, A new cryptic species in Behria (Asparagaceae, Brodiaeoideae), from the Baja California peninsula, Mexico, Phytotaxa 646 (3), pp. 213-229 : 219

Morphological key to Behria and Bessera species

1. Flowers tubular, gamopetalous; staminal tube absent ........................................................................................................................2

1. Flowers campanulate, dialypetalous; staminal tube present...............................................................................................................3

2. Corms 31–45 mm in length; flowers tubular; perianth prominently saccate at the junction of the tube and ovary; growing on lowland areas (10–150 m) ........................................................................................................................................ Behria tenuiflora

2. Corms 11.3–31 mm in length; flowers hypocrateriform; perianth slightly saccate at the base; growin on mid-to-high elevation areas (400–2060 m) ................................................................................................................................................................. Behria leonis

3. Tepals pinkish to light lilac; filaments forming a staminal tube 1–2 mm long; endemic to Sierra de El Cuale, Jalisco ..................... ................................................................................................................................................................................... Bessera tuitensis

3. Tepals carmine, scarlet, light red, violet, purplish or fuchsia; filaments forming a tube 7.5–17 mm long; widely distributed.........4

4. Staminal tube dark purple, conical; filaments dark purple, cuneate and flattened.................................................. Bessera ramirezii

4. Staminal tube white, whitish or violet, cylindrical; filaments scarlet, red, violet or purple, terete or semiterete..............................5

5. Tepals carmine, ruby or red; staminal tube white or whitish, 7.5–16.5 mm long; filaments carmine, ruby, red or violet, terete, 7.8–21.7 mm long; from Balsas Basin, Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre del Sur and Transmexican Volcanic Belt............................................................................................................................................................... Bessera elegans

5. Tepals light red, scarlet, violet, magenta or fuchsia; staminal tube whitish or violet, 7.5–13.2 mm long; filaments violet or purple, semiterete, 5.3–10.2 mm long; from Pacific Lowlands.................................................................................... Bessera elegantissima