Sassafras

Fragrant Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a culinary and medicinal plant. Its leaves thicken stews and soups, as in gumbo - they create file powder. The bark and rootbark release a familiar “root beer"-like scent when scratched or scraped. This is due to the presence of safrole, a compound with a complicated legal history. Safrole was banned in the 1960s due to research pointing to hepatotoxic effects. Safrole is also a precursor to the manufacture of the drug MDMA, and as such its trade is heavily monitored. Sassafras’s medicinal uses include diuretic, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and pain-relieving properties.