Makra / Egyptian Grass
Dactyloctenium aegyptium
Also known as Egyptian Finger Grass, Crow Foor Grass
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Makra
Identify Makra by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm fruit surface: Smooth, not spiny.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Poaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Makra.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Dactyloctenium aegyptium
- Genus
- Dactyloctenium
- Family
- Poaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Marshy lands and open areas
- Habitat type
- Wetland
- Native to
- South America
- Distribution
- Old World Tropics
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Goa, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Poaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit surface
- Smooth, not spinyrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Grain
Characters marked “recorded” are for Makra itself; the rest are typical of the Poaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- मकड़ा Makra, makri,मकरा makara
About Makra
Egyptian Grass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium) belongs to the Poaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and 21 other states. It grows in marshy lands and open areas. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Poaceae
Grass family
Makra belongs to the Poaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Poaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Makra or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides