Small, shrubby, flowering perennial, Stevia rebaudiana Bert., Asteraceae. Leaves are intensely sweet due to the presence of various glycosides of the tetracyclic diterpene, steviol. Habit. Paraguay, Brazil. Constit. Stevioside, rebaudiosides A-E, dulcoside A, steviolbioside; labdane diterpenes including jhanol, austroinulin; triterpenes such as β-amyrin acetate, lupeol; β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, flavonoids, sterebins, tannins, and volatile oil. Overview of agriculture and constituents: J. E. Brandle et al., Can. J. Plant Sci. 78, 527 (1998). Prepn of extracts and identification of constituents: S. K. Yoda et al., J. Food Eng. 57, 125 (2003) DOI. LC-MS method for characterization of extracts: J. Pól et al., J. Chromatogr. A 1150, 85 (2007) DOI PubMed. Biosynthesis of glycosides: J. E. Brandle, P. G. Telmer, Phytochemistry 68, 1855 (2007) DOI PubMed. Review: A. Y. Leung, S. Foster, Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients (Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, 2nd Ed., 2003) pp 478-480. Book: A. D. Kinghorn, Ed., Stevia: The Genus Stevia (Taylor & Francis, New York, 2002) 224 pp.