Someone was eventually going to bring this up, so it might as well be me, a "gardening enthusiast," though so far I haven't received any of these mystery packets.

Americans warned not to plant mysterious seeds appearing in the mail

Agriculture officials raise concern after residents report receiving unsolicited shipments, apparently from China

These started turning up in large number this week, and they appear to be all sorts of types of seeds. They're coming in non-tracked small parcels from China and are often mis-marked as other items (jewelery, in particular).

To make it a political issue, the Commissioner of Agriculture in Texas proclaimed

"I'm getting sick and tired of these surprises coming out of China. First, it was a China virus, then it was murder hornets. Then we had closed down their embassy because of espionage and spying," Miller said. "And now we, you know, we've got all these mysterious seeds."

The phrase "China virus," used by President Donald Trump and defended by politicians including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, has been criticized as racist and anti-Chinese.

Oh, well. Despite that bit of Trump boosterism, I like his statement "These are highly illegal. Don’t plant them. Don’t mess around with them,” Miller said. “Treat them like they’re radioactive or like Kryptonite." These Texans do know how to turn a phrase.

Fortune magazine says

The phenomenon is widespread as concerned citizens from across the country—everywhere from Louisiana to Ohio to Washington State—are reporting the deliveries to authorities.

In response, state agricultural agencies are issuing warnings, and posting pictures of suspicious packages on social media. The state of Tennessee has told anyone who received the seeds "do not plant them."

They also note that "Other unconfirmed reports on Twitter suggest the addresses of seed recipients are not random, but were obtained by hacking databases containing lists of gardening enthusiasts."

Stay safe, if you get them, put the entire parcel into a ziplock bag and seal it. Contact your state or provincial agriculture department and ask them what they want you to do with them. Chances are that someone will pick them up.