:Stevia (genus)
{{Short description|Family of shrubs}}
{{other uses|Stevia (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Stevia rebaudiana flowers.jpg
|image_caption = Stevia rebaudiana flowers
|display_parents = 2
|taxon = Stevia
|authority = Cav.
|synonyms =
- Nothites Cass.
- Mustelia Spreng.
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = 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
}}
Stevia ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|iː|v|i|ə|,_|ˈ|s|t|ɛ|v|i|ə}}){{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stevia |title=Stevia |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date=2012-08-31 |accessdate=2013-02-13}}{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stevia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717193125/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stevia |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2012 |title=Stevia |work=British & World English |publisher=Oxforddictionaries.com |date=2013-02-07 |accessdate=2013-02-13}}{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/stevia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509020123/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/stevia |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 May 2013 |title=Stevia |work=US English |publisher=Oxforddictionaries.com |date=2013-02-07 |accessdate=2013-02-13}}Both {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|iː|v|i|ə}} and {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|ɛ|v|i|ə}} 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. 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 in this genus is widely grown for its extraction of sweet compounds from its leaves and sold as a sugar substitute known as stevia and other trade names.
Taxonomy
The genus Stevia consists of 240 species.{{cite web | url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=131515 | title = Stevia | work = Flora of North America}}
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.{{cite book |author=Parsons, WT |author2=Cuthbertson, EG |title=Noxious Weeds of Australia, 2nd ed. |year=2001 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingswood, Australia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&pg=PA309 |isbn=978-0-643-06514-7|page=309}}.This reference refers specifically to Stevia eupatoria, a related weed having the same nomenclature origin.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is native to South America, Central America, and Mexico, with several species found as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.{{cite web |title=Stevia Cav. |url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=STEVI |work=USDA Plants}} The genus primary grows in semi-dry mountainous terrains but can also grow in other habitats such as grasslands, scrublands, forested mountain slopes, conifer forests, and subalpine vegetation.{{Cite journal |last1=Borgo |first1=Jimena |last2=Laurella |first2=Laura C. |last3=Martini |first3=Florencia |last4=Catalán |first4=Cesar A. N. |last5=Sülsen |first5=Valeria P. |date=2021-05-06 |title=Stevia Genus: Phytochemistry and Biological Activities Update |journal=Molecules |volume=26 |issue=9 |pages=2733 |doi=10.3390/molecules26092733 |doi-access=free |pmid=34066562|pmc=8125113 }}
Uses
Human use of the sweet species S. rebaudiana originated in South America.{{Cite journal |last1=Misra |first1=Himanshu |last2=Soni |first2=Manish |last3=Silawat |first3=Narendra |last4=Mehta |first4=Darshana |last5=Mehta |first5=B. K. |last6=Jain |first6=D. C. |date=2011 |title=Antidiabetic activity of medium-polar extract from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bert. (Bertoni) on alloxan-induced diabetic rats |journal=Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=242–248 |doi=10.4103/0975-7406.80779 |issn=0976-4879 |pmc=3103919 |pmid=21687353 |doi-access=free}} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Abdullateef |first1=Raji Akintunde |last2=Osman |first2=Mohamad |date=2012-01-01 |title=Studies on effects of pruning on vegetative traits in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Compositae) |url=http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijb/article/download/11721/9623 |journal=International Journal of Biology |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.5539/ijb.v4n1p146 |doi-access=free}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Stevia}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Stevia}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q312246}}
{{Authority control}}