Gramineae

Common russet grass

Panicoideae; Panicodae, Arundinelleae. There are about 26 species occurring in tropical and southern Africa, with 1 species occurring in South America. There are 6 species indigenous to southern Africa.

Occurs from eastern to southern Africa in tropical savanna and grassland areas. It occurs in open grasslands or hillsides.

This is an extremely variable species, especially in panicle shape, hairiness of vegetative parts and presence or absence of tubercles on the glumes and lower lemma.
A hardy, tufted perennial grass with unbranched culms that grows to a height of 400-1,500 mm tall. Leaf blades are 100-300 mm long and 5 mm wide. The ligule is a fringed membrane or a fringe of hairs. The nodes and lower leaf sheaths are often hairy. The old lower leaf sheaths break up into fibres. Inflorescence is paniculate and may be open or contracted and light brown in colour. Plants have hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets are solitary or in pairs, 7-13 mm long and disarticulate above the glumes. There are two very large, very unequal glumes. The lower glume is obtuse or truncate, the female fertile lemma lobes acute and 1 mm long. The central awn is 25-50 mm long with the callus clearly two-toothed in mature specimens. There are two stamens. The inflorescence droops when it is dry.
L. simplex is often confused with L. flavida and they both occur in the same habitat. They can be distinguished by the tips of the glumes which are blunt in the case of L. simplex and always sharply tipped in L. flavida.

This species is used domestically as thatching and for brooms by tying together the culms. It is a hard grass that is seldom grazed. It is an indicator of poor soil and/or overgrazing.

Palatability

It has low palatability (Verboom & Brunt, 1970).

Chemical analysis and digestibility

Dougall and Bogdan (1958) recorded 10.4 percent crude protein, 38.0 percent crude fibre, 5.6 percent ash, 1.8 percent ether extract and 44.2 percent nitrogen-free extract in the dry matter of fresh material in early bloom in Kenya.

Chromosome base number, x = 6 and 12.

Leaf blade anatomy

C₄ photosynthetic pathway.

None reported and considered to be non-toxic.

Occurs in summer rainfall areas with more than 600 mm of annual rainfall.

Altitude range

300-2 750 m in Tanzania.

It grows in poor, coarse, sandy soils, but may also be found on stony slopes or on the edge of wetlands. In Tanzania it vegetates an infertile red earth (latosolic soil) derived from granitic rock and low in organic matter, lime, phosphorus and potash. In Zambia it is common on poor, sandy soils. (Verboom & Brunt, 1970). In Ghana it is common on rocky hillsides and shallow soils overlying impermeable ironstone hardpan or bedrock. Soil texture varies from sand to clay with a pH range from 5.0 to 6.0. It is also common on riverine plains, on a range of soils with a pH from 5.2 to 7.5, with mottled subsoils.

Rainfall requirements

It generally occurs in rainfalls varying from 750-1 000 mm.

Drought tolerance

It is not very tolerant of drought.

L. simplex is not propagated.

Flowers throughout the year, but most often from November to January. The grasses vegetate and come into flower during the rains, but set seed and turn a reddish-yellow colour when their life cycle is completed, even if the soil has not dried out. Loudetia flowers early. After the rains, the whole herb mat dries off and usually burns. After the fires there is a rather sparse growth of green leaves from the fire-scorched perennial cushions and a little dry-season flowering by several grass species. The main regrowth from the perennial cushions, however, does not occur until after the rains have commenced (Vesey-Fitzgerald, 1963).

Response to fire

In Njombe, Tanzania, burning this pure vegetation every other year in October gave the best grass production. Burning annually in June, soon after the end of the rains, caused a vigorous growth of herbaceous plants. With neither burning nor grazing, the grass lost its vigour (van Rensburg, 1952).

None known

Dougall, H.W. and Bogdan, A.V. 1958. The chemical composition of grasses of Kenya. E.Afr. For. J., Part 1, 24 (1): 17-23; Part 2, 25 (4): 241-244.

Gibbs-Russell, G.E., Watson, L., Koekemoer, M., Smook, L. Barker, N.P., Anderson, H.M., Dallwitz, M.J. 1989. Grasses of southern Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa, No. 58, National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

Van Rensburg, H.J.1952. Grass burning experiments on the Msima River Livestock Farm, Southern Highlands, Tanganyika. E. Afr. Agric. For. J., 17:119-129.

Van Wyk, E. & Van Oudtshoorn, F. 1999. Guide to grasses of southern Africa. Briza Publications, Arcadia, South Africa.

Verboom, W.C. & Brunt, M.A. 1970. An ecological survey of Western Province, Zambia, with special reference to the fodder resources. Vol. 2. The grasslands and their development. Tolworth (Surrey), UK, Directorate of Overseas Surveys, Land Resources Division Land Res. Study No.8. Vesey-Fitzgerald, D.F.1963. Central African grasslands. J. Ecol. 57: 243-274.

Van Wyk, E. & Van Oudtshoorn, F. 1999. Guide to grasses of southern Africa. Briza Publications, Arcadia, South Africa.