Title: Stevia (genus)
Content:  Stevia    is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana is widely grown for the sweet compounds (steviol glycosides) extracted from its leaves, widely used as a sugar substitute under the generic name stevia and several trade names.
Title: Stevia (genus)
Content:  The genus Stevia consists of 240 species of plants native to South America, Central America, and Mexico, with several species found as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 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. Human use of the sweet species S. rebaudiana originated in South America.
Title: Stevioside
Content:  Stevioside is the main sweetener (along with rebaudioside A) found in the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant originating in South America. Dried leaves, as well as aqueous extracts, have been used for decades as a sweetener in many countries, notably in Latin America and Asia (Japan, China). Stevioside was discovered in 1931 by French chemists who gave it its name. The sweetening power of stevioside was estimated to be about 300 times stronger than cane sugar.
Title: Stevia
Content:  have GRAS or Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in food. The European Union approved Stevia additives in 2011, while in Japan, stevia has been widely used as a sweetener for decades. The plant Stevia rebaudiana has been used for more than 1,500 years by the Guaraní peoples of South America, who called it ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb"). The leaves have been used traditionally for hundreds of years in both Brazil and Paraguay to sweeten local teas and medicines, and as a "sweet treat". The genus was named for the Spanish botanist and physician Petrus Jacobus Stevus. In 1899, Swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni, while conducting research in eastern Paraguay, first described the plant and the sweet taste in detail. Only limited research was conducted on the topic until, in 1931, two French chemists isolated the glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste.
Title: Stevia rebaudiana
Content:   S. rebaudiana has been used over centuries by the Guaraní people of Brazil and Paraguay, who called it kaʼa heʼẽ ("sweet herb"), to sweeten the local yerba mate tea, as medicine, and as a "sweet treat". In 1899, botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant as growing in eastern Paraguay, and observed its sweet taste. In 1931, chemists M. Bridel and R. Lavielle isolated the glycosides stevioside and rebaudioside that give the leaves their sweet taste. The exact structures of the aglycone steviol and its glycoside were published in 1955. Based on the JECFA (Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives) declaration, safe consumption of steviol glycosides for humans is determined to be 4 mg/kg body weight per day. It was also agreed by the European Commission in 2011 for use in food in European countries. Steviol glycosides have also been accepted in the US as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). Stevia leaf and raw extracts are not treated as GRAS and their import into the US is not allowed for usage as sweeteners.
Title: Stevia anisostemma
Content:  Stevia anisostemma is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Title: Steviol
Content:  In Stevia rebaudiana, the biosynthesis of steviol is confined to green tissues. The precursors of steviol are synthesized via the non-mevalonate pathway located in plant cell plastids, which produces isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP). IPP and DMAPP are converted to geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP), which is the precursor of many diterpenoids, by GGDP synthase. GPDP is made into a cyclic compound, copalyl diphosphate (CDP), by CDP synthase, after which kaurene is produced by another cyclization catalyzed by kaurene synthase. The kaurene is then transferred to the endoplasmic reticulum, where it is oxidized to kaurenoic acid by kaurene oxidase in a reaction that uses up oxygen and NADPH. Then steviol is produced by hydroxylation. The steviol is subsequently glycosylated in the cytoplasm.
Title: Stevia cultivation in Paraguay
Content:  In 2010 there were roughly 40 companies in the country devoted to this product, employing in total some 20,000 people in production, industrial processing and export. Among the leading companies in this sector in the period 2007&ndash;2014 were Steviapar S.A., Purecircle South America S.A., NL Stevia S.A., Nativia Guaraní S.A., during the period of 2007-2014.
Title: Stevia bertholdii
Content:  Stevia bertholdii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Title: Stevia dianthoidea
Content:  Stevia dianthoidea is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Question: where does stevia in the raw come from?
Answer: South America.
the plant species Stevia rebaudiana.