Stevia rebaudiana, also called as sweet leaf or sugarleaf, is a genus of about 150 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family i.e. Asteraceae which is native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. As a sweetener, Stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or liquorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.