• Family : POACEAE
  (Grass Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : GHAS FAMILY (घास फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Poaceae
• Synonym(s) : Eragrostis amabilis var. tenella (L.) A.Camus; Megastachya tenella (L.) Bojer; Poa tenella L.; Cyperus paniculatus Blanco; Eragrostis amabilis var. breviculmis Stapf; Eragrostis amabilis var. duriuscula K.Schum.; Eragrostis amabilis var. insularis (C.E.Hubb.) P.Umam. & P.Daniel; Eragrostis amabilis f. normalis Kuntze; Eragrostis amabilis var. peramangalamensis P.Umam. & P.Daniel; Eragrostis amabilis var. plumosa (Retz.) E.G.Camus & A.Camus; Eragrostis amabilis f. varia Kuntze; Eragrostis breviculmis H.Lév.; Eragrostis caudata Nees ex Steud.; Eragrostis ciliaris var. patens Beal; Eragrostis ciliaris var. patens Chapm. ex Beal; Eragrostis confinis Nees ex Steud.; Eragrostis despiciens (Link) Schult.; Eragrostis elytroblephara Steud.; Eragrostis laxa Baker; Eragrostis mauritii Steud.; Eragrostis plumosa (Retz.) Link; Eragrostis taffzagra Steud.; Eragrostis tenella subvar. aperta Stapf; Eragrostis tenella var. breviglumis Stapf; Eragrostis tenella var. insularis C.E.Hubb.; Eragrostis tenella var. koenigii Kuntze; Eragrostis tenella var. plumosa (Retz.) Stapf; Eragrostis tenella var. purpurea Bojer; Poa despiciens Link; Poa indica Bory ex Steud.; Poa plumosa Retz.; Poa pseudamabilis Roxb. ex Stapf; Poa speciosa Willd. ex Spreng.; Poa tenuissima Schrad.; Poa unioloides Willd. ex Spreng.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Eragrostis tenella (L.) P.Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult.
• Vernacular name :
  • Bakralu, Belakuda, Waya (Marathi)
• Habit : Herb
• Habitat : Degraded deciduous forests, Grasslands, also in wastelands
• Comments / notes : Common in sandy soils and hills
• Flower, Fruit : July-March
• Collector(s) Name : H.O.Saxena, M.Brahmam
• Collection Date : 22/10/1991
• Collection Nos : RRL 7123
• Collection Locality : Nuapada, Odisha
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Throughout Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
  • Odisha : Throughout Odisha
  • Tamil Nadu : Throughout Tamil Nadu
  • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • Himachal Pradesh : Himachal Pradesh
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Kameng, Siang, Subansiri
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
  • Lakshadweep : Lakshadweep
• Native : Afghanistan, Aldabra, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Island
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Paleotropics
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1996- Flora of Orissa Vol. 4
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • B. D. Sharma, S. Karthikeyan & N. P. Singh 1996 - Flora of Maharashtra state - Monocotyledons
  • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Arora et al., 1981 – Flora of South Kanara
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Materials for Flora of Arunachal Pradesh. Volume 3, Botanical Survey of India, 2009. Pg.: 289
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Eragrostis tenella
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Eragrostis tenella. Downloaded on 17 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution