Recipients warned not to plant mysterious, unsolicited seeds mailed to US from China
- Packages labelled as jewellery or toys, which have been received in at least 9 states, actually contain unidentified seeds
- Agriculture officials urge residents not to put seeds in the ground because of the risk of introducing invasive species
Mysterious seeds from China have been arriving by mail to unsuspecting recipients in at least nine US states, according to warnings issued by local agriculture departments in recent days.
With tensions between the two countries already soaring, the strange influx of unidentified seeds, landing in the American heartland via the Chinese postal service, may be sowing even more distrust into the rapidly worsening US-China relationship.
“At this point in time, we don’t have enough information to know if this is a hoax, a prank, an internet scam or an act of agricultural bio-terrorism,” Kentucky agriculture commissioner Ryan Quarles said in a statement.
Whatever the reason the seed packets were sent – some were labelled as jewellery, others as toys – state agriculture officials urged residents not to put them into the ground because of the risk of introducing invasive species into the US.
“DO NOT plant them,” the Washington State Department of Agriculture urged its residents on Facebook.
State authorities asked people who received the seeds to report them to the government.