| 1. | Leaves terete and tightly rolled | 2 |
| Leaves broad, flat or loosely rolled | 4 | |
| 2. | Plants rhizomatous | F. rubra (NSW VIC TAS SA WA) |
| Plants tufted | 3 | |
| 3. | Leaves very scabrous | F. asperula (NSW VIC TAS) F. diuruscula auct. |
| Leaves smooth | *F. nigrescens (NSW TAS WA) F. rubra var. commutata |
|
| 4. | Culms scabrous | 5 |
| Culms smooth | 6 | |
| 5. | Lemmas unawned | F. muelleri (NSW VIC) |
| Lemmas shortly awned | F. plebeia (NSW TAS) | |
| 6. | Lemmas with an awn 5-15 mm long | F. benthamiana (SA) |
| Lemmas ±awnless | 7 | |
| 7. | Inflorescence branches with 1-6 spikelets; auricles glabrous | *F. pratensis (NSW SA WA) F. elatior subsp. pratensis |
| Inflorescence branches with 5-15 spikelets; auricles minutely hairy | *F. arundinacea (NSW VIC TAS SA WA QLD) F. elatior subsp. arundinacea, ? F. archeri |
Key to Festuca derived from Vickery 1939; Alexeev 1987
Taxonomic name: