1	Plant non-pulvinate, petiole and rachis caducous, leaflet apices truncate or emarginate	Chesneya sect. Chesneya
–	Plant pulvinate, petiole and rachis persistent, leaflet apices acute	2
2	Petiole and rachis hardened and spiny, leaflet apices with short spines	Chesneya sect. Spinosae
–	Petiole and rachis blackened and curved, leaflet apices without short spines	Chesneya sect. Pulvinatae