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Saba comorensis
Apocynaceae FAMILY

Saba comorensis

Saba comorensis

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitClimber
Growth—

A plant of low to moderate elevations in tropical areas. It is found at elevations from sea level to 1,250 metres in areas where the mean annual temperature is around 20°c and the mean annual rainfall ranges from 900 - 2,400 mm[1, 2]. Grows on a variety of soils, including gritty sandy clay loams and dark grey compacted loamy soils[1]. The main stem can be cut right back and will still produce new shoots[1].

Propagation

Seed - pre-treatment can improve germination rates. It has been shown that passage of the seed through an animal gut greatly improves germination rates[1], so other methods such as scarification or pre-soaking could also be useful[PFAF]. For easy germination, the seeds need de-pulping by hand and cleaning in water[1]. Germination success rate is usually well over 90% and starts 12 days after sowing[1]. Germination is uniform and hypogeal[1]. The plant regenerates naturally in the wild by seed[1]. For them to become established, the seedlings need fertile moist soils under partial or full shade[1]. Mature fruit never falls and must be collected once yellow in colour[1]. Cuttings. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Saba+comorensis>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
  3. [3]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  4. [4]Lost Crops of Africa. Vol. 3 Fruits. — National Academy Press · 2008 · ISBN 030910596X ↩︎Masses of information on about 70 species of plants that have been utilized as fruits in Africa.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎