Man-Alu / Viper Grass
Dinebra retroflexa
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- July-April
How to identify Man-Alu
Identify Man-Alu 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: July-April.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Poaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Man-Alu.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Dinebra retroflexa
- Genus
- Dinebra
- Family
- Poaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Distribution
- Tropical Africa, Iraq, India
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-April
- 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 Man-Alu itself; the rest are typical of the Poaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Man-alu, Bara sarpot
- Kannada
- Halgyan hullu, huligyan hullu, Nari baalada gandu hullu
- Marathi
- Goradu, Kangar
About Man-Alu
Viper Grass (Dinebra retroflexa) belongs to the Poaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and 8 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from July to April.
Poaceae
Grass family
Man-Alu 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 Man-Alu 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