Residents from Boothbay to Burbank, California are being warned not to plant seeds received in the mail from the People’s Republic of China. Maine Department of Agriculture communication director Jim Britt reported hundreds of Mainers and millions of people around the U.S. have received unsolicited seeds in the mail from a business in the communist country.

Candie Crocker of Edgecomb received a package in late May labeled “jewelry,” but after opening it, she saw a mixture of tiny seeds. “I checked the labeling and it was from China. I hung onto the package for a long time because I thought this was suspicious,” she said. “I kept them on my window sill until I saw a Facebook post with contact information about these Chinese seeds.”

Boothbay Harbor Town Clerk Michelle Farnham also received the seeds. The package labeled “jewelry” came a day or two before Facebook had several posts on the mysterious Chinese packages. She recalled Chinese writing all over the packaging. “I didn’t know what to think. I opened them because I wasn’t sure what was in the package. They were in a small clear package and reminded me of cucumber seeds. I set them on the counter until the next day when I started to read about them.”

Farnham took the seeds to Boothbay Harbor Police Department. “I didn’t handle them, and I am happy I didn’t plant them because I didn’t know where they came from,” she said. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is advising recipients not to open the package, plant, compost, throw away, or flush the seeds. Instead, state officials are directing recipients to follow directions at www.maine.gov/dacf/seeds and complete the report form.

“While the exact types of seeds in the packages are unknown, the seeds are thought to be either invasive or pose a plant health risk, and not believed to be harmful to humans or pets, but could pose a significant risk to agriculture or the environment,” wrote state horticulturist Gary Fish in an email to Crocker. “Due to the volume of reports that we have been receiving, DACF will not be able to reply to each individual regarding the identification results.”

Maine residents receiving an unsolicited package of seeds are asked to place the seeds and shipping envelope (if available) into a resealable baggie and mail them, for identification and processing, to: USDA-APHIS-PPQ, 15 Iron Road, Suite 1, Hermon, ME 04401.

Britt has read about the unsolicited seeds being received across the country. According to those reports, this is not an orchestrated malicious attack by the Chinese government. “You should never plant any seeds received outside the country due to a threat by an invasive species,” Britt said. “But what I’ve been reading, this is more of an attempt by a Chinese company to inflate their export numbers, so this is more of a scam.”