''Loudetia simplex'' is a

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

species found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and Southern Africa and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. It was originally described as a ''

Tristachya ''Tristachya'' (common name trident grasses) is a genus of African and Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese ...

'' species by

Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific Germany, German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Carl Li ...

in 1841 and was transferred to ''

Loudetia ''Loudetia'' is a genus of African, Arabian, and South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can ...

'' by

Charles Edward Hubbard Charles Edward Hubbard (23 May 19008 May 1980) was a British botanist, specialising in agrostology – the study of grasses. He was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses" in his time. He is indicated ...

in 1934. left, 180px, Type specimen at MNHN ">MNHN.html" ;"title="Type specimen at MNHN">Type specimen at MNHN The species is a perennial bunch grass, with culms erect and long. Leaves are mostly basal, with flat, convolute (botany), 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 A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

species. Two subspecies have been described: *''Loudetia simplex'' subsp. ''simplex'' *''Loudetia simplex'' subsp. ''stipoides'' 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.

References

Panicoideae Flora of Africa Flora of Madagascar Flora of the Madagascar subhumid forests {{Panicoideae-stub