[2] Cochemiea saboae grows solitary or in small groups with fleshy roots.

The small, slightly rounded, smooth warts do not produce milky juice.

The 17 to 45 radial spines are slender, glassy white, yellow at the base, and sometimes slightly curved, growing up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long.

[3] Accepted subspecies:[4] Cochemiea saboae is found in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Durango at elevations between 2100 and 2200 meters growing on volcanic rock slabs.

[5] Initially described as Mammillaria saboae by Charles Edward Glass in 1966, honoring American cactus collector Kathryn Sabo, it was reclassified to the genus Cochemiea by Alexander Borissovitch Doweld in 2000.