Stevia rebaudiana Stevia PFAF Plant Database

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Stevia rebaudiana - Bertoni.

Common Name

Stevia

Family

Asteraceae or Compositae

Synonyms

Eupatorium rebaudianum.

Known Hazards

May cause dizziness, headache, flatulence, nausea & muscle pain. Caution with diabetic patients. May increase blood pressure lowering effects of allopathic medicine [301].

Habitats

Infertile, sandy acid soils with shallow water tables. This is normally in areas like the edge of mashes and grassland communities.

Range

S. America - Brazil, Paraguay.

Edibility Rating

Medicinal Rating

Care

Summary

Physical Characteristics
Stevia rebaudiana is a ANNUAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.




http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Man77

Habitats
Cultivated Beds; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.
Edible Uses: Sweetener.

Leaves - raw or cooked. A very sweet liquorice-like flavour[K]. The leaves contain 'stevioside', a substance that is 300 times sweeter than sucrose[183]. Other reports say that they contain 'estevin' a substance that, weight for weight, is 150 times sweeter than sugar[4, 46, 61, 105]. The dried leaves can be ground and used as a sweetener or soaked in water and the liquid used in making preserves[183]. The powdered leaves are also added to herb teas[183]. The leaves are sometimes chewed by those wishing to reduce their sugar intake[183]. The leaves can also be cooked and eaten as a vegetable[105, 177].

Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. Hypoglycaemic. None known

Other Uses
None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a sandy soil, requiring a warm sunny position[200]. It is a short day plant, growing up to 0.6 meters in the wild and flowering from January to March in the southern hemisphere. Flowering under short day conditions should occur 54-104 days following transplanting, depending on the daylength sensitivity of the cultivar. The natural climate is semi-humid subtropical with temperature extremes from 21 to 43 C, averaging 24 C. Stevia grows in areas with up to 1375mm of rain a year. Plants are not very frost resistant, but can be grown as half-hardy annuals in Britain, starting them off in a greenhouse and planting them out after the last expected frosts.

Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Make sure the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots and grow them on fast, planting them out after the last expected frosts. It could be worthwhile giving them some protection such as a cloche or cold frame for a few weeks after planting them out until they are growing away well.

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Expert comment

Author
Bertoni.

Botanical References
200

Links / References

[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.

Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.

An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.

Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.

The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177]Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption.

An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.

Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[301]Karalliedde. L. and Gawarammana. I. Traditional Herbal Medicines

A guide to the safer use of herbal medicines.

Readers comment

Elizabeth H.
sridharan a	Thu Nov 6 15:22:14 2003

can we grow this ,stevia,in trophical climate.If yes what is the maxm teperature it can with stand?

Elizabeth H.
Rich	Thu Apr 29 10:21:40 2004

It should be noted that there are possible side effects associated with Stevia. Futhermore it is banned for sale as a food or food ingredient in the UK, EU. In the US it can only be sold as a dietary supliment and not as a sweatner. See for example Food Standards Agency and Center for Science in the public interest.

To give the other side of the argument there are many site promoting its use which are critical on existing studies www.stevia.net

Elizabeth H.
kripa	Tue Sep 23 06:52:02 2003

The plant is very useful one for persons with NIDDM and with hypetension as well. it is an important breakthrough in the field of medicinal plants and nutrition

Elizabeth H.
galikim@yahoo.com	Tue Dec 20 2005

Es excelente aditivo de azúcar sin caloria, especial para diabeticos tipo A y B. En el Paraguayexisten unas 600 hectáreas de cultivo y en e presente año fue declarado de interes nacional por el Gobierno. Se pretende darle mayor impulso para su cultivo, y exportar al Japon, EE.UU. y Francia. Excelente para los 50 millones de diabeticos que tiene los EE.UU. de Norteamerica. LA USAID en Paraguay ha dado apoyo para conocer mas de este cultivo y su mercadeoa este producto nativo de Paraguay. El precio que se paga en el Paraguay por las hojas es de un dólare el kilo, y falta incentivar más por un mejor precio y crédito para los productores, además de la extension agraria para la capacitación. Tiene futuro, y depende de que los Gobiernos interesados en importar la materia prima, como las hojas, las ramas y el producto cristalizado como azucar dietica, sea apoyado para que se le de mayor impulso. Me inicie en el cultivo de 1.000 plantas y he visto que es planta que realmente es el elixir de los guaranìes, ya que los indígenas los utilizaban para endulzar sus alimentos, además del uso medicinal. Es bueno para la hipertensión, el colesterol, como también para la purificación de la sangre. En los animales vacunos, pollos parrilleros, se ha utilizado a dosis de 0,15 gramos por kilo de alimentos y permitió mayor peso al termino de crecimiento

Elizabeth H.
jaroslava	Thu Feb 28 2008

Hello, can you please, send me the email adresse of the company, where I can buy "Stevia rebaudiana" pots. Becose I can not find what I really wanted. ja.je@hotmail.co.uk Thanks a lot Jaroslava

Elizabeth H.
paul norton	Wed Feb 18 2009

where I can buy "Stevia rebaudiana"

Elizabeth H.
Sarah Mallett	Sun Dec 6 2009

Hello, Yes, someone else wanting to know where Stevia seed can be purchased from in the UK. sarah.mallett@hotmail.com Thanks.

Karen M.
	Jul 9 2011 12:00AM

I find this plant very useful, its great in tea's to add sweetness and you only need a small amount. Makes lovely Sweet Morroccan mint tea that is guilt free as stevia has no calories. I have a large plant from a cutting purchesed last year and am growing new plants from cuttings myself. I hope to use it as a sweetner in other things as I gain more dried plant material. Its been used for 30 years in Japan without problems.

steviasugar S.
	Nov 20 2011 12:00AM

This plant is really interesting, a sweetener with zero calories! I hope i can buy stevia on european market soon...

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