Stevia (genus)

Stevia
Stevia rebaudiana flowers
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Eupatorieae
Genus:	Stevia Cav.
Species
About 240 species, including: Stevia anisostemma Stevia bertholdii Stevia crenata Stevia dianthoidea Stevia enigmatica Stevia eupatoria Stevia lemmonii Stevia micrantha Stevia ovata Stevia plummerae Stevia rebaudiana Stevia salicifolia Stevia serrata Stevia tunguraguensis Stevia viscida
Synonyms[1]
Nothites Cass. Mustelia Spreng.

Stevia (/ˈstiːvɪə/, /ˈstiːvɪə/ or /ˈstɛvɪə/)^[2][3][4][5] is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America.

The species Stevia rebaudiana is widely grown for the sweet compounds (steviol glycosides) extracted from its leaves, widely used as a sugar substitute under the generic name stevia and several trade names.^[6]

Taxonomy

The genus Stevia consists of 240^[7] species of plants native to South America, Central America, and Mexico, with several species found as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.^[8] The genus was named for Spanish botanist and physician Petrus Jacobus Stevus (Pedro Jaime Esteve 1500–1556) a professor of botany at the University of Valencia.^[9] Human use of the sweet species S. rebaudiana originated in South America.

References

1. Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
2. "Stevia". Merriam-webster.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
3. "Stevia". British & World English. Oxforddictionaries.com. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
4. "Stevia". US English. Oxforddictionaries.com. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
5. Both /ˈstiːvɪə/ and /ˈstɛvɪə/ are recorded by at least some US and UK dictionaries, but the former is more common in US English (listed first or exclusively) and the latter is more common in UK English.
6. Raji Akintunde Abdullateef, Mohamad Osman (2012-01-01). "Studies on effects of pruning on vegetative traits in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Compositae)". International Journal of Biology. 4 (1). doi:10.5539/ijb.v4n1p146.
7. "Stevia". Flora of North America.
8. "Stevia Cav.". USDA Plants.
9. Parsons, WT; Cuthbertson, EG (2001). Noxious Weeds of Australia, 2nd ed. Collingswood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-06514-7., page 309.This reference refers specifically to Stevia eupatoria, a related weed having the same nomenclature origin.