Fici. S. (1993) Cadaba in Flora of Somalia 1: 46-52
Plants shrubs or trees 5-6 m tall; bark smooth, greyish; young twigs covereed with stellate scales. Leaves alternate; petioles 4-6 mm long, covered with stellate scales; blades orbicular-obovate, 1.6-3.5 cm long, 1.1-2.5 cm wide, covered with stellate scales or glabrescent, bases cuneate, tips obtuse, rounded, or retuse. Inflorescences racemes 0.8-2 cm long, their axes coverd with stellate scales; bracts linear, 1.6-2.1 mm long; pedicels 0.9-1.6 cm long, densely hairy. Sepals 4, ovate-triangular, 5-7 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, stellate pubescent; petals 4, with claws 2-3 mm long and ovate-oblong blades 3-4 mm long; androphores 1.5-2 mm long; appendages whitish yellowm 1.1-1.4 cm long, with tubular bases and pblong tips; stamens 5, filaments 1.5-1.9 cm long, anthers about 1.8 mm long; gynophores 1.8-2 cm long; ovaries spindle-shaped or cylindrical, about 3 mm long,densely glandular pubescent. Fruits cylindrical, torulose, 1.3-3.2 mm long, 0.3-0.5 cm wide, densely stellate pubescent, usually on recurved pedicels.
Cadaba heterotricha grows in acacia-Commiphora bushaland on a wide variety of soils at elevations of 100-1200 m. It is kown from regions N1-3, C1-2, and S1-2 of the Flora of Somalia, and from Ethiopia, Kenya, the Arabian Peninsula, and Pakistan.
Plants of the World Online asserts that Cadaba heterotricha is a synonym of Cadaba linearifolia, which is based on an older name, Niebuhria linearifolia J.Graham. Pending evidence supporting the assertion, they are treated as distinct in OpenHerbarium because the leaves of Cadaba heterotricha are not linear. An image of the type of Niebuhria linearifolia needs to be examined, plus of course, descriptions provided for it. Possibly the information is in the publication transferring it to Cadaba.