Plants unarmed shrubs or small trees, 0.8-5 m tall. Leaves odd-pinnate, to 17 cm long with 20-50 leaflets; leaflets opposite or almost so, up to 23 mm long and 5 mm wide, narrowly oblong, emarginate, lower surface puberulous on the margins and midrib, upper surface glabrous, terminal leaflet cuneate-oblong. Flowers on axillary shoots, hanging; calyx lobes about 10 mm long, triangular, acute; petals about 30 mm long, initally creamy , becoming wine-red, falling quickly. Pods 110-130 mm long, 11-14 mm wide, straight to slightly curved, acuminate, glabrous, valves twisting on dehiscence. Seeds about 8 mm long, 5 mm wide, reddish-brown, elliptic in outline.
Cadia purpurea grows in semi-evergreen bushland and Juniperus forests at 490-2100 m in regions N1-2 and SI of the FLora of Somalia, and in Ethiopia Yemenn, and northern Kenya .
Cadia has 6 species. All the other species are known only from Madagascar.
Additional note: The flowers are gorgeous. If cultivars that retained their flowers were developed, they could become horticulturally valuable.
Geed gaab ama geed yar oo illaa 5 m ah. Caleemo leh illaa 50 caleemood oo yaryar oo isku beegan, hareerahana ka buuxa. Ubax hore u dhaca, oo inta uu caddaan ka tago casaan isku beddeleya, oo ka soo laadlaada laamo gaaban. Midho toosan oo si yar jilicsan u gu jira qolof qalloocda, oo marka ay furmayso maroorsamaya.
Fiiro: Dadka guduhu waxay u isticmaalaan xanuunnada kalyaha.
H. Pickering & A.I. Awale (2018) Introduction to the plants of Central Somaliland
Plants unarmed shrubs or small trees with odd-pinnate leaves up to 17 cm long iwth 20-50 leaflets. The flowers are radially symmetric and initially wine-red, fading to creamy. Cadia purpurea is a very attractive species, worthy of cultivation.