Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
The young leaves, twigs and fruit contain an aromatic essential oil and make a very fragrant tea. The twigs are best gathered when in flower as the nectar adds considerably to the flavour. The dried and powdered fruit is used as a substitute for the spice 'allspice'. The fruit is about the size of an olive. The leaves can also be used as a spice substitute. The new bark is pleasant to chew.
Colonists used the dried, powdered berries as a substitute for allspice, giving this shrub the alternate name of allspice bush.
From Missouri Plants
Other info. - This shrubby species is easy to identify in the field because of its habitat and its pleasant fragrance. When crushed, the leaves give off a lemon scent that is reminiscent of "Pledge" furniture polish. The small flowers of the plant are
some of the first to be seen in the spring. They are short lived and the plant is typically seen with just leaves or in fruit. This is a dioeceous species, meaning plants will have either male or female flowers. Staminate plants typically have many more flowers than pistillate plants.
Natives used a tea made from all parts of the plant to treat ailments such as coughs, cramps, measels, and anemia. Oil from the fruits was applied to bruises. A tea made from the bark was used to expel parasitic worms. The tea is quite good, if a sweetener is added. (give me a break, I'm from the south)