Define what it means to be a spice. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree. Other spices are the flowering bits of plants. And still others are the leaves. Why exclude roots and bulbs?
i use chinese five spice in my house. i make a killer peking style roast duck. its amazing.
my pantry has a lot of unusual things, including sichuan peppercorn themselves. that shit was illegal and still is in some part of the country, i believe.
A friend of mine brought me a whole bunch of these. I love it. Throw them in a hot, dry pan, watch them change colour, grind them up, make some of the best skewered beef in the world.