Known by the common name yeheb bush, it is one of the economically most important wild plants of the Horn of Africa, but it is little known outside of its distribution area.

Because it is potentially valuable for other hot, dry regions as a resource for food and fodder, it is recommended to take measures against its extinction.

The genus Cordeauxia is in subfamily Caesalpinioideae[3] and tribe Caesalpinieae,[4] and is closely related to the genera Caesalpinia and Stuhlmannia.

The first recovery of his existence dates back to 1871, when the Italian esplorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti noticed the plant when traversing Somalia to Bari.

[9] Afterward, Hemsley gave the plant the generic name Cordeauxia, with the specific epithet edulis (edible).

[9][10] Another cause for the decrease of C. edulis is the loss of seeds removed through the local people, eaten by wildlife and destroyed by insects.

[6] It is a wild species, but also subject to domestication trials, where it was sent to other arid regions, but with poor response, except for Voi, Kenya, where fruits are produced successfully since 1957.

[13] Today there is germplasm collection in Ethiopia (ILRI Addis Ababa), Kenya (National Genebank, Kikuyu) and the USA (Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station, Griffin, Georgia).

It has only recently been a subject to domestication, therefore little knowledge about propagation, the agronomic practices and its potential for selection as well as breeding exists.

[5][14] The potential of this multipurpose plant is very promising, especially for other arid, hot regions as an important food and fodder resource.

[5] C. edulis grows slowly in the early stages, because of the buildup of the strong taproot and the small proportion in reserve proteins.

[8] Furthermore, it serves as fodder for camels, goats, sheep and cattle in dry season[5][20] but the shrubs cannot withstand long-term grazing pressure.

[6][16] It is essential for the livestock production, especially in central Somalia and eastern Ethiopia where C. edulis can cover 85% of the good-quality feed during the dry season.

[21] During the rainy season, the animals usually avoid the plant because of its high content of tannins in the leaves (see table below).

Overall, there could be problems to cover the demand of P, Mg, Mn and partly Zn of grazing stock by feeding only Yeheb.

If goats browse on the leaves of C. edulis, their feet become light-orange in color and their urine turn purple.

[7][21] As Cordeauxione makes calcium complexes, teeth of animals get orange-red and their bones pink when they eat the leaves.

[5] The pink bones are considered a sign of good meat quality in Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

[9] The seeds of yeheb are rich in sodium, potassium and phosphorus; thus they contain a small amount of calcium and magnesium.

Phytohaemagglutinin, a toxic lectin often present in legumes, is absent in Yeheb seeds; this is an additional nutritional advantage.