Stevia rebaudiana

[Al in Kona]

I got a small plant of Stevia rebaudiana (see pic below) which I found in the herb section at our local Wal Mart Store. I'll either pot it up into a larger container or just put it into the ground. I read up on it and found that it is native to portions of northeast Paraguay and even into Brazil. I thought it was interesting enough to add this info:

The sweet secret of Stevia lies in a complex molecule called Stevioside which is a glycoside composed of glucose, sophorose and steviol. It is this complex molecule and a number of other related compounds that account for Stevias extraordinary sweetness. The Stevia herb in its natural form is approximately 10 to 15 times sweeter than common table sugar. Extracts of Stevia in the form of Steviosides can range anywhere from 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar. And best of all, Stevia does not affect blood sugar metabolism according to most experts.

Yes, the small leaves are very sweet to the taste. Now to learn more on different ways to use it. I'd like to hear from any of you that are familiar with this sweet plant or can add any info you know about it and what your cultivational experiences might have been.

[MattyB]

Hmmmmm, interesting Al. My wife uses Stevia based sweetner for her coffee. Usually a half a packet does the trick. Other than that I didn't know much about it. Thanks for sharing.

[Luisd]

Hi Al, I grow this plant in mediterranean climate, here have recently sold. The leaves are delicius.This plant grow some slow here, need full sun and is drought resistant.Is a very interesting plant.

Edited November 24, 2010 by Luisd

[Alan_Tampa]

I have some stevia. I actually bought one last spring, forgot about it and it dried out. However, when we got some rain, months after its demise, it sprouted back. I managed this same trick twice (I bought one to replace the first orphaned plant)with two seperate plants. So I am assuming it can lay dormant for a time and come back from the roots. Seems like a tough plant, tasty, too. Haven't tried to use it as an actaul sweetener, so not sure how good the crushed leaves do for this use.

Alan