Last week, Carlos, one of our editors, took part in a grass taxonomy course. After spending the whole week surrounded by grasses, it was perhaps inevitable that his choice for Plant of the Week would be a grass too. But not just any grass: one of his favourites.

Loudetiopsis chrysothrix, known in Brazil as brinco-de-princesa — or “princess earring grass” — is a perennial grass typical of the Cerrado, the savannah-like vegetation that covers much of central Brazil. Its range also extends beyond Brazil, with records from Bolivia and Paraguay, as well as parts of tropical Africa.

It gets its name from the distinctive trichomes that cover its inflorescences and from the long awns that emerge from them, giving the plant the appearance of a golden earring fit for royalty. The colour of its inflorescences adds to the beauty of the Cerrado during the dry season, when greenery takes a step back until the rains return, and the landscape gives way to the ochres and golds of dry grasses.

Today, capim-brinco-de-princesa is one of the species most widely marketed by Cerrado de Pé, a seed collectors’ association based in Alto Paraíso de Goiás, in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region. These networks sell seeds of native species and support ecological restoration through direct seeding. In this context, the species has become not only a symbol of the Cerrado’s seasonal beauty, but also of the communities working to restore and value its native vegetation.

Due to its natural beauty, this species has recently begun to be used in landscaping. One example is the “Louise Ribeiro” Naturalist Garden, established at the University of Brasília in 2017 and considered the first naturalist garden in the Cerrado. The garden uses seeds supplied by Cerrado de Pé, linking ornamental planting with community-based seed collection and ecological restoration. As a naturalist garden, it follows a different approach to conventional landscaping, using native species arranged in ways that evoke the structure, seasonality and beauty of the Cerrado itself.

The garden was named in honour of Louise Ribeiro, a biology student at the University of Brasília who was murdered in 2016. In this way, the project has become both a space for valuing Cerrado plants in landscaping and a platform for remembering Louise and raising awareness about violence against women.

Cover image: Loudetiopsis chrysothrix. Photo by Maria Eduarda Machado de Oliveira (iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0).