PL 346 
KAA HE-E, THE "SWEET HERB" OF PARAGUAY. 
(Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni; S. P. I. No. 53918.) 
The leaves of this plant contain a glucosid whose sweetening power is 150 to 200 times that 
of cane sugar. It is claimed in Paraguay that the leaves may be used for sweetening in the 
natural state, drying and grinding only being required, or they may be soaked in water 
and the liquor used for sweetening preserves. It has been suggested that kaa he-e may 
prove valuable as a sweetening material which can safely be used by persons suffering from 
diabetes. The plant is propagated readily by means of cuttings and grows rapidly. Eight 
hundred young plants, ready for distribution to experimenters, are shown above in a propa- 
gating frame at the Plant Introduction Garden, Bell, Md. (Photographed by Wilson 
Popenoe, August 27, 1923; P35032FS.) 
