Officials Investigate Mystery Seeds Sent By Mail Hundreds of people in the region have received seeds from China that they didn't order. We've received your submission. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a plant being "prepped for incineration" that grew from mystery seeds after an Arkansas man received them without warning from China, according to Fox News. An Arkansas man went ahead and planted the packs of unidentified seeds from China being sent to people around the United States and has now seen massive growth in the mystery plant. Your California Privacy Rights Mysterious seeds from China have been shipped to Americans in all 50 states, an investigation has discovered. 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WARNINGS are issued in at least 28 states across the US as Americans have received unsolicited packages of mysterious seeds that appear to be arriving from China… Packets of plant seeds have been sent from China, unsolicited, to residents in at least 31 states. Warning issued about COVID-19 vaccine after patients suffer reaction, The spy who shagged 'em: Suspected Chinese agent reportedly slept with, courted pols, NYC Chipotle besieged by rats feasting on avocados, biting employees, Man on trial for killing schoolboy who threatened to reveal 'intimate' relationship, Grinding to a halt: 'Highest-earning sex worker’ sues over lost wages. While these stories might be scary and they’d seem to back up conspiracy theories saying that China is conducting some sort of attack, authorities that investigated the matter discovered that some of the seeds do not seem harmful. A Booneville, Arkansas, man has sown the seeds of mild discontent with his state Department of Agriculture. At least 187 Texans received mystery seeds mailed from China. It originated in Asia and is most commonly found growing wild in Vietnam, Southern China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh. US agriculture officials are urging recipients to keep the seeds sealed and call them so they can pick them up. Some packages stated they were jewelry, […] According to KFSM-TV, local resident Doyle Crenshaw spurred the agency on to intervention last month when he planted mysterious seeds shipped from China in his garden. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Your California Privacy Rights But that's not necessarily a bad thing. (WAFB) - Tonight on 9News at 10, WAFB’s Lester Duhé is looking into those mysterious seeds, apparently from China, that have been showing up in some people’s mailboxes. An Arkansas man who received one of the mysterious seed packages sent to thousands of US residents from China planted them on his property — and said the results are wild. The handful of seeds arrive in little sealed clear plastic pouches and are tucked in standard-size light gray or beige envelopes — sometimes labeled as jewelry. It turns out the mystery is much bigger than anyone thought, and there may be a simple explanation for it. Whenever he's not writing about gadgets he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he desperately tries. “I’ve been battling this for a couple weeks. As APHIS continues to learn more about the mystery seeds from China, ASTA shares the phytosanitary concerns that have popped up. Warns Against Planting Mystery Seeds From China Anna Kitanaka 7/29/2020 Group of local entrepreneurs pays for over $40,000 of groceries for customers at an Atlanta store The USDA and agriculture officials across the U.S. have issued warnings about unsolicited shipments of foreign seeds and advised people not to plant them. 5 things to know about the Queen’s granddaughter, Piers Morgan insists he’s not the Pigeon Lady from ‘Home Alone 2’, Chrissy Teigen’s Spanx photo sparks NSFW reply from John Legend, Nicolas Cage Goes Full Nicolas Cage in Netflix’s ‘History of Swear Words’ Trailer, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, reported getting the bizarre, unsolicited seed packages, Republicans to Trump: Appoint special counsel for 2020 election probe, YouTube bans videos claiming 2020 presidential election fraud, Sanders surrogate weighing run for House seat in Ohio, New York's Electoral College delegation to cast votes in person in Albany, Joe Biden chooses Ohio Rep. 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Mystery solved: Those strange seeds sent from China to Florida have been identified Species include mint, sage More than 1,000 people in Florida have received mysterious seed packets in … Officials in several states, including Texas, are warning residents to not plant or handle unsolicited seeds sent from China. Instead of planting or eating them, you should also consider revisiting your online accounts and see if anything is suspicious, especially when it comes to Amazon accounts and other online stores. Privacy Notice It’s not just one species either, but plenty of known plants, including “rose, amaranth (not Palmer), 2 mints, False Horse Balm, Self Heal, Lespedeza and Sweet Potato,” according to a lab in Utah. That way, when the next wave of mysterious seeds hits, you might be spared. Officials are … (Getty) ... Do not plant the seeds or discard them in trash that will be landfilled. USDA official Osama El-Lissy said the seeds … Now, where I planted them, and I remember where I planted them, everything that’s in the garden where I planted them are having a hard time and are starting to die,” said a woman from New Mexico in a voice mail. She planted the seeds after thinking she was supposed to have received them. Now the feds are investigating. Do Not Plant These! 1 of 2. The tested seeds, which came with Chinese labels but were not confirmed to be from China, are for herbs, vegetables and flowers. Seeds of suspicion: It's a bizarre mystery - random packets of seeds from China dropping through British letterboxes, to the horror of government scientists. By Better Business Bureau. August 3, 2020. Thanks for contacting us. Posted: Aug 5, 2020 / 05:37 AM PDT / Updated: Aug 5, 2020 / 05:37 AM PDT (File photo/USDA) This story has been shared 192,611 times. Alabama Department of Agriculture Show More Show Less … State officials warn they shouldn't be planted. 59,781, This story has been shared 47,282 times. A different person discovered they got seeds for oregano and consumed the resulting crop. Anyone who receives them should contact state officials for disposal assistance. In mid-July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) noted that mystery seeds were showing up in mailboxes across states from China. Terms of Use USDA tested those mysterious seeds from China. Officials say the seeds, which appear to be sent from China, shouldn't be planted or thrown away. It is unclear who is behind the packages, but US agriculture officials have said they believe the seeds may be part of a “brushing scam” — in which people receive goods they never ordered and the sender then posts a fake customer review in their name to boost sales. Some of the mystery seeds from China sprouting up in the mailboxes across the US have finally been identified — as harmless cooking ingredients, according to federal officials. Aside from the USDA’s Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance group (SITC), the FBI and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started investigations of their own. Hundreds of Americans Planted 'Chinese Mystery Seeds' (vice.com) 166 Posted by BeauHD on Friday September 11, 2020 @08:00AM from the plot-thickens dept. Kentucky woman mistakenly planted seeds from China and this is what happened A woman in Logan County said she received seeds back in June and believed they were from her planting … Thousands of Americans have received unsolicited seed packages containing mysterious Chinese seeds over the past few months. August 4, 2020 | 1:46pm | Updated August 4, 2020 | 3:49pm. News Artist Collective Claims To Be Behind Mysterious Monoliths . It’s all part of a complex “brushing” campaign, as Motherboard explains: Eventually, the official line became that this was a ‘brushing’ campaign, in which items of small value are sent to people whose online accounts have been compromised, or are sent to people as a ‘gift.’ In order to leave a positive review from a ‘verified buyer’ (which is weighted higher because the person nominally bought and used the product), you need to have actually bought or received an item, so by receiving seeds, reviews from that account or name will be weighted higher. Other seeds are “noxious weeds” that already exist in the US, but which people are banned from planting, according to analysis from New Mexico. “I planted them in my hydroponic system in my home, I thought they were the strawberry seeds I ordered from Amazon. The man planted the seeds before US agriculture officials issued a dire warning to recipients not to put them in the ground, the station said. A squash plant bearing an eerie resemblance to the one that exploded from a package of mystery seeds mailed to Arkansas. China isn’t conducting some sort of carefully orchestrated agricultural scam against the US with the help of nefarious seeds, as some might believe. “The package said it was from China and said ‘studded earrings’ on the outside, and we thought that was a little odd,” Crenshaw acknowledged of his batch. An incredibly detailed report from Motherboard shows that thousands of Americans from all 50 states have received such packages over the summer, with various agencies investigating the matter. 47,282, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved BBB Scam Alert: Don't plant mystery seeds from China. We’ve seen plenty of reports on the matter, as people detailed their experiences with unexpected deliveries. USDA warns the public not to plant the seeds or ingest them, and instead to contact the agency or local agricultural authorities. Some of the seed recipients planted them, while others went ahead and ate them, the report shows, including a few scary anecdotes. That plant has now been “prepped for incineration”, a spokeswoman from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture told Fox News. americans receive mystery seeds in the mail, mostly from china Although the samples that have been identified so far appear to be harmless, the USDA is urging Americans to not plant unsolicited seeds. Now police believe they could be part of an online review scam known as 'brushing'. Invalid Date, MAN who received one of the mystery seed packages from China planted them on his property and said they produced a "large white … Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Gardenia jasminoides, the gardenia, cape jasmine, cape jessamine, danh-danh, or jasmin, is an evergreen flowering plant of the coffee family Rubiaceae. Whether you received the seeds or not, you should set new, unique, strong passwords for each online account you own and use a password manager to manage them. A Man Has Planted Some Of Those Mystery Seeds From China. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. If you have received mysterious seeds from China that you have not ordered, you’d better contact local authorities about it. A man from Booneville, Arkansas, planted unsolicited mystery seeds he received from China weeks before government officials issued their warnings not to. by: Nexstar Media Wire. 192,611, This story has been shared 59,781 times. U.S. Identifies Some of the Mysterious Seeds Mailed From China The 14 varieties identified include common ones, such as hibiscus, morning glory and lavender. The plant is producing large white fruit from orange flowers that resemble those of a squash. “Every two weeks I’d come by and put Miracle-Gro on it, and they just started growing like crazy,’’ Crenshawn said. But it’s still a scam nonetheless, and one that you should avoid at all costs. While authorities had no idea what was going on in the first weeks of shipments, they apparently have an answer now. This story has been shared 192,611 times. Sitemap Those mystery seeds from China: Might be part of an Amazon review scam In cases where the seeds have already been planted, the Indiana Department … U.S. They turned Black and green mold, so I threw them away,” one person from Michigan wrote. Despite USDA warnings, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Americans planted those mystery "innocuous" Chinese seeds sent to addresses in … “We … planted the seeds just to see what would happen,’’ Booneville resident Doyle Crenshawn told local CBS-TV affiliate KSFM. New Mexico identified onion, cucumber, tomato, radish, peppergrass, alfalfa, corn, lettuce, hollyhock, and spearmint seeds. Photo: Robert Decelis/Getty Images In recent weeks, reports surfaced of mysterious, unsolicited seed packets creating chaos in the postal system as they crept into random mailboxes across the country. US residents in all 50 states reported getting the bizarre, unsolicited seed packages beginning last month. White fruit and orange blossoms grew from the plant that resembles a squash plant. The novel coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly the biggest and scariest situation of the year, but it’s hardly the strangest thing that has happened in 2020. ... hibiscus, and rose were among the varieties identified by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Sent from China being sent across us National China, unsolicited, to residents in at least states! Is much bigger than anyone thought, and one that you should avoid all. 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