Receiving odd mails is nothing new. This has occurred and is experienced by many people throughout the country. However, for the items delivered to you in the mail recently, you should be wary.
Residents across the United States are receiving mysterious packages of seeds in the mail, despite the fact that they never ordered them. Residents from all over the country have been reporting receiving these mysterious boxes of seeds, and they’re mostly coming from foreign countries. Most of them are from China.
People are now advised against planting them.
Authorities are still unsure why these strange seeds are being delivered to the United States. Is it possible that this is a scam? A joke? Or something else that everyone should be concerned about?
According to a story from The New York Times, the United States was now able to identify some of the seeds it received. A federal agency said that it had discovered fourteen distinct plant species that appeared to have been sent from China. They appear to be a combination of ornamental, fruit and vegetable, herb, and weed kinds.
The most frequent plants, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, are cabbage, hibiscus, lavender, mint, morning glory, mustard, rosemary, and sage. They may appear to be safe but experts advise recipients not to plant them. “This is just a subset of the samples we’ve collected so far,” said Osama El-Lissy, the service’s deputy administrator for plant protection and quarantine.
Doyle Crenshaw of Booneville, Arkansas, one recipient, claimed that he had already planted some of the unsolicited seeds he received in the mail. “I told my wife,” he said, “they don’t look like any flower seed I’ve ever seen.” He acknowledged that he ordered blue zinnia seeds from Amazon but was perplexed when the package arrived two months ago because it contained not just blue zinnia seeds, but also other seeds packets he didn’t order. He explained that the label on the box read “studded earrings” and “China,” although it was addressed to him in Illinois.
He said, “It’s a really pretty plant, It looks like a giant squash plant.”
After that, Crenshaw stated he called the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and informed them about it. Officials showed up to dig up the plant he had grown as a result of unwanted seeds. He will have them collect the remaining package labeled “beads,” according to his statement. Crenshaw claimed that from now on, he will only purchase seeds locally after receiving these mysterious seed packets.
According to authorities, this appears to be a “brushing scam” in which vendors send unsolicited items in the hopes that it will boost their sales. However, no matter what the seeds are, there is a good chance that they might be hazardous to the environment and ecosystem. The danger of major consequences such as introducing exotic plant species into North America or perhaps bioweapons is low, according to Art Gover, a plant science researcher at Penn State University.
Grover believes that the flowers might be harmful to humans and animals, noting that they can irritate the respiratory system and cause allergies. They can also induce illness, according to him.
