Deciduous or evergreen, woody climbers or scandent shrubs with persistent
bud scales at the base of branches. Leaves alternate, simple, ovate or elliptic
to lanceolate, entire, petiolate, exstipulate. Inflorescence an axillary cyme,
rarely a panicle or raceme, sometimes flowers solitary. Flowers small, bisexual,
5-merous, actinomorphic. Sepals 5, equal, basally connate, somewhat orbicular-ovate, persistent. Petals 5 - 7, equal, imbricatre. Disc 5-lobed. Stamens 5, all
fertile, inserted on the disc and adnate to petals at base; anthers globular. Carpels
2; ovary ovoid or conical, 2-loculed; styles 2, slightly united. Fruit of 1 or
2, almost free, reniform or subglobose druplets; endocarp pitted or reticulate,
bony. Seeds reniform, testa brittle.
Mainly confined to South East Asia and Malesian regions, distributed
from Kashmir to East Asia to Solomon Islands; about 19 species, 6 in India.
Literature.
CHEN, L. (1943) A revision of the Genus Sabia Colebr. Sargentia 3: 1 -
75. WATER, V.D. (1980). A Taxonomic revision of the Genus Sabia (Sabiaceae). Blumea 26 (1):
1 - 64.