Loudetia simplex is a grass species found in tropical and Southern Africa and Madagascar.

[3] It was originally described as a Tristachya species by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in 1841[4]: 269  and was transferred to Loudetia by Charles Edward Hubbard in 1934.

Leaves are mostly basal, with flat, convolute blades 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in) long and 2–5 mm wide.

[5] Like all Loudetia species, L. simplex uses C4 photosynthesis and occurs in open habitats, often on poor shallow soils.

[6] Two subspecies have been described:[1] In Madagascar, it is one of the dominant grassland species in the central high plateaus,[7] where it occurs on leached, poorly drained soils and is quite fire-resistant.