Saba is a small genus of woody climbing plants in the family Apocynaceae (order Gentianales), first formally described as a genus in 1849 and later monographed by Pichon in 1953. The genus belongs to the tribe Willughbeieae within Apocynaceae, a large family best known for latex-producing vines and trees. Members of Saba are typically robust lianas or scrambling shrubs bearing opposite, glossy leaves and producing milky latex characteristic of the family. The genus was established to accommodate a group of African and Malagasy species previously placed in Landolphia and related genera.
Saba is native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Madagascar, and the Comoro Islands. Its species span a wide geographic arc: Saba comorensis occurs across Madagascar, the Comoros, and continental Africa from Senegal east to Somalia and south to Zimbabwe, while Saba senegalensis is distributed through the Sahel zone from Senegal to the Central African Republic, and Saba thompsonii is restricted to West Africa (Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria). The genus thus covers much of sub-Saharan Africa, making it one of the more broadly distributed liana genera in Apocynaceae on the continent.
The fruits of several species, particularly Saba senegalensis and Saba comorensis, are edible and economically important across the region. They have long been harvested from the wild for food and are traded locally in West and East African markets.
Etymology
The genus name Saba is generally taken to refer to the ancient kingdom of Saba (Sheba), reflecting the African and Arabian geographic associations of early botanical explorers, though the exact reasoning of the original author Pichon is not documented in available sources.
Distribution
Saba is native to Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, and continental Africa. Species are found from the Sahel zone (Senegal eastward) through East Africa to the Horn of Africa and as far south as Zimbabwe, with one species (Saba thompsonii) confined to the Gulf of Guinea countries of West Africa.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus Saba (Pichon) Pichon was published in Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire, No. 35 (Monographie des Landolphiées) p. 302 (1953), as part of a major revision of the rubber-liana alliance within Apocynaceae. GBIF recognises 4 descendants. The genus belongs to the tribe Willughbeieae within Apocynaceae.
