Loudetia simplex


Loudetia simplex is a grass species found in tropical and Southern Africa and Madagascar. It was originally described as a Tristachya species by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in 1841 and was transferred to Loudetia by Charles Edward Hubbard in 1934.
The species is a perennial bunch grass, with culms erect and long. Leaves are mostly basal, with flat, convolute blades long and 2–5 mm wide. The inflorescence is a long panicle of spikelets, each containing one sterile and one fertile flower. The lemma carries a 25–50 mm long awn.
Like all Loudetia species, L. simplex uses C4 photosynthesis and occurs in open habitats, often on poor shallow soils. It is a significant weed species.
Two subspecies have been described:
In Madagascar, it is one of the dominant grassland species in the central high plateaus, where it occurs on leached, poorly drained soils and is quite fire-resistant. In Malagasy, it is known locally as horona, horo, berambo, kilailay, kirodrotra, or felika. It has only medium value as pasture grass.