Stevia
The plant is originally native to Paraguay and Brazil. In most areas in New Zealand the plant will die back in winter, but each spring it will shoot off again. In colder areas, plants will need shelter, or you may be best to grow them as annuals. It is used as a non-nutritive sweetener and herbal supplement.
Stevia is a true wonder. The leaves of this perennial herb are 20-30 times sweeter than sugar. The glycosides (stevioside and rebaudioside) within it are 200-300 times sweeter. It has no calories either, meaning diabetics can eat it because it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels.
If replacing sugar with stevia in baking you will need to use the equivalent amount of something else to make up the volume, such as apple fibre. 1 tsp sugar = 2 to 3 liquid drops of stevia OR a 1/4 tsp powdered stevia. 1 cup of sugar = 1 tsp of liquid stevia OR 2 tbsp of stevia powder