Stevia
Stevia rebaudiana flowers
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Eupatorieae
Genus: Stevia
Cav.
Species

About 240 species, including:

Synonyms[1]
  • Nothites Cass.
  • Mustelia Spreng.

Stevia (/ˈstiːviə, ˈstɛviə/)[2][3][4][5] is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the 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, sold 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] Human use of the sweet species S. rebaudiana originated in South America.[9]

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.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 17 January 2015 at archive.today
  2. ↑ "Stevia". Merriam-webster.com. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Stevia". British & World English. Oxforddictionaries.com. 7 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Stevia". US English. Oxforddictionaries.com. 7 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Both /ˈstiːviə/ and /ˈstɛviə/ 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. ↑ Abdullateef, Raji Akintunde; Osman, Mohamad (1 January 2012). "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. ↑ Misra, Himanshu; Soni, Manish; Silawat, Narendra; Mehta, Darshana; Mehta, B. K.; Jain, D. C. (2011). "Antidiabetic activity of medium-polar extract from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bert. (Bertoni) on alloxan-induced diabetic rats". Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences. 3 (2): 242–248. doi:10.4103/0975-7406.80779. ISSN 0976-4879. PMC 3103919. PMID 21687353.
  10. ↑ Parsons, WT; Cuthbertson, EG (2001). Noxious Weeds of Australia, 2nd ed. Collingswood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-643-06514-7..This reference refers specifically to Stevia eupatoria, a related weed having the same nomenclature origin.
  • Data related to Stevia at Wikispecies
  • Media related to Stevia at Wikimedia Commons
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