Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Sep 20 - 11:18 AM

It isn't the seeds, it is the pollen that drifts, resulting in cross-pollination and if a farmer saves seeds to plant in the future, they had some kind of the registered seed.

I suspect the seeds are so far past the news cycle that we'll have to search periodically for an answer if one is ever presented. I put up that most recent article for an overview of how they were received and what some idiots did with the seeds.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jeri
Date: 11 Sep 20 - 09:26 AM

Jos, thanks. That sounds like what I heard some time ago. The seeds are probably held under extreme security, so "oops - we lost a load of seeds that accidentally blew into sue-able farmers' fields. Oh darn" is hard to believe.

Somebody somewhere is likely testing the Chinese seeds. I hope we hear wtf they are!

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jos
Date: 11 Sep 20 - 05:32 AM

Jeri, according to "The Reunion" on BBC Radio4 this morning, Monsanto seeds were blown onto innocent farmers' fields while being transported, and grew. Monsanto then prosecuted hundreds of farmers for growing those plants without a licence and it took some twenty years for the convictions to be quashed.
If that is the case, it sounds odd to me. Were the seeds packed insecurely in leaking sacks? How did Monsanto know where their seeds were growing, unless it was a deliberate ploy to target those fields and then retrieve samples in order to prosecute the farmers?

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Sep 20 - 04:53 AM

I thought that mysterious unsolicited seeds was what Virgin Mary suffered from !

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: BobL
Date: 11 Sep 20 - 02:48 AM

Received wisdom, I understand, is that if you look like your passport photo, you are sorely in need of a holiday.

For my own bus pass, Bucks CC used my passport/driving license photo. Taken 16 years ago, it resembles me more than my current passport photo does - must be a moral there, but I'm not sure I want to know what it is.

(Apologies for the thread drift)

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Sep 20 - 07:23 PM

My last office ID before I retired in 2007 was such a good pic (we were allowed to smile!) that I got a copy. My first one 16 years before was so ghastly that I wore it attached to my waistcoat hem. I described it to my sister as armed-terrorist-shoot-on-sight & she pointed out that if people looked like their passport photos they would get arrested!

sandra

my first ID photo after I retired showed my hair poking out on one side - for later pics I made sure my hair was in place.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Sep 20 - 01:54 PM

Another possibility: there have been cases in the states (which I heard about, so grain-of-salt) where a traditional farm was next to one that planted GMO crops. Of course, these things cross-pollinated, and the traditional farm was held responsible for using trademarked seeds. Like I mentioned, I don't know if it's true.

Senoufou, I actually LIKED the photo on my driver's license. Either the photos are getting better, or I've lowered my expectations.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Sep 20 - 12:09 PM

I agree Sandra, any seeds/plants arriving unsolicited into a country pose a threat to the agriculture. Our area here in Norfolk is very much an agricultural one, growing all sorts of crops, mainly grains, sugar beet, maize and potatoes. If these weird seeds were contaminated in any way and some daft person tried to sow and grow them, a virulent plant disease could be spread throughout the county (and the country), a bit like Covid19 in humans. Or it could kill bees and other insects.
I've watched an interesting TV programme about Australian airport customs control, and they're fiercely strict about anyone trying to bring in food, plants etc. Quite rightly.
I did wonder if it was a wicked plot to scupper plant cultivation, but the 'brushing' sounds plausible too.
Anything arriving through the Post nowadays is dodgy it seems.
I received today a new Bus Pass (it was due for renewal) and in the photo on the card I look like a terrifying witch. Husband fell over laughing, and said what a good likeness it is. Pig.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Sep 20 - 04:08 AM

that report was the first time I'd seen the term "brushing"

wikipedia on "brushing" - last updated Sept 2020 & the first reference of only 7 comes from Wall Street Journal in 2015

interesting.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 11:11 PM

That "brushing" answer sounds like so much nonsense. No one has stepped forward to say their account was compromised and false reviews were written in their names.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 10:11 PM

they turned up in Australia last month ... The organisation said seeds of unknown origin pose a major threat to Australia’s biosecurity and could introduce invasive species and pests to Australia’s ecosystem ... American Agriculture officials believe the seeds are part of an e-commerce "brushing" scam. Under the scheme, e-commerce sellers boost their ratings on sites like eBay and Amazon by creating fake orders - sending unsolicited items to random addresses to artificially boost sales and fabricate customer reviews.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 07:34 PM

People planted them, some people even ate them. It boggles the mind.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 06:13 PM

Thats funny but you also uncovered a national security weakness.
Mums the word. ;^/

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 05:43 PM

Datura Novichoka?

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 20 - 04:10 PM

Hundreds of Americans Planted 'Chinese Mystery Seeds'

In late July, America was briefly enthralled with “Unsolicited Seeds from China,” which started showing up in mailboxes in all 50 states. These mystery seeds prompted warnings from the USDA, which said people should not plant them, and should instead alert their state agricultural authority and mail them to the USDA or their local officials.

Many Americans heeded this advice. Many more decidedly did not.

According to documents obtained by Motherboard from state departments of agriculture, at least hundreds, perhaps thousands of Americans planted the seeds.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 12 Aug 20 - 06:44 AM

"You swapped our cow for some beans/seeds? You must be stupid, Jack"

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 12 Aug 20 - 06:42 AM

Penny:
I have, nagging at me, the idea that a song could come out of this.
"The first seed I planted ...." but at the moment nothing further is coming. A succession of plant based disasters involving photosensitivity, hallucinations, creepers growing over the whole house, and the neighbours, giant beans?
But it isn't developing and I don't have a tune.

"The monster I planted grew stronger than most
A seed that appeared, unasked, in the post.
Nobody could tell me quite how it would grow,
But now, in my terror, I know, yes I know!"

No tune, but (probably because it's in my head) it scans with "The Great Storm is Over" (see music thread above)

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Aug 20 - 06:49 PM

How many old folkie hippies have already smoked them...???

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jack Campin
Date: 11 Aug 20 - 04:21 PM

From the Scottish NFU on Facebook:

URGENT UPDATE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED UNSOLICITED PACKETS OF SEED IN THE POST

Significant numbers of Scottish households have been receiving unsolicited packets of seeds in the post from China/Singapore as part of a likely scam.

Following contact with Scottish Government, it urges those receiving seeds to take the following actions.

• If the packet of seeds has not been opened, please leave it sealed.

• DO NOT PLANT OR COMPOST THESE SEEDS.
It is possible that these seeds could be a harmful invasive species or harbour a disease both of which if released could pose a threat to agriculture and the environment.

• Do not handle the seeds
These seeds may have been treated with a chemical pesticide. Please wash your hands if you have handled them without gloves.

Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) is collecting these unsolicited packets of seeds for analysis. It is asking for your co-operation to send these seeds to SASA.

Email your details and a postal address to [e-mail]

You will be sent a pre-paid self-addressed envelope and zip-lock bag. When you receive the envelope and zip-lock bag please insert the packet of seeds into the zip-lock bag and seal. Then place the zip-lock bag and contents into the envelope and post it back to SASA.

If you receive further unsolicited packages, please report them again using [e-mail]

NFU Scotland - Argyll & the Islands Region
NFU Scotland - Ayrshire Region
NFU Scotland - Forth & Clyde Region
NFU Scotland East Central
NFU Scotland - Dumfries and Galloway region
NFUS North East Region
NFU Scotland - Lothians & Borders Region
Scottish Natural Heritage
Rural Matters

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Penny S.
Date: 09 Aug 20 - 01:45 PM

I have, nagging at me, the idea that a song could come out of this.
"The first seed I planted ...." but at the moment nothing further is coming. A succession of plant based disasters involving photosensitivity, hallucinations, creepers growing over the whole house, and the neighbours, giant beans?
But it isn't developing and I don't have a tune.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 07:28 PM

Vonnegut, for a time, lived on the street I grew up on. His son was born not too long before I was. My parents saw him, and knew who he was, but never talked with him.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jack Campin
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 04:34 PM

(the active chemical can be absorbed through the skin)

Folklore pharmacognosy says it's even more effectively absorbed through the mucous membranes of the vulva. Apply to a broomstick and go night flying. Bring the whole coven.

A witch conspiracy directed from China sounds just up the Trump administration's street.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Penny S.
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 03:09 PM

I do have an odd mystery about datura, something I thought I saw in a footnote under a poem by Kipling, but have been unable to find since.

The poem is "La Nuite Blanche" in which he describes someone having a very heavy trip - things climbing up the wall etc.

Poem part

Then a Creature, skinned and crimson,
Ran about the floor and cried,
And they said that I had the "jims" on,
And they dosed me with bromide,
And they locked me in my bedroom --
Me and one wee Blood Red Mouse --
Though I said: "To give my head room
You had best unroof the house."

The footnote suggested that the reference to "jims" on, was to jimsonweed, which I understand had travelled to India.

But I have not found anything to back that up.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 02:50 PM

..funnily enough, Vonnegut was my favourite author when I was in my late teens in the 1970s..

I can't deny that pfr's dark absurdist sense of humour must owe something
to such an inspirational formative influencer...

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 02:31 PM

Kilgore Trout was Philip José Farmer - at least in regard to having written "Venus on the Half Shell", a seriously weird little book.
Billy Pilgrim went to Tralfamadore, but the two of them met (as far as I can remember - it's been a long time).

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 02:06 PM

Is Kilgore Trout who went to Tralfamador?

I have seen pix of the plants grown from these seeds...

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 11:12 AM

Penny, I long ago realized I couldn't have the jimson weed in the back yard where the dogs are. I'd put some in the compost and some seeds got into the yard and small plants sprouted. I realized there had been one in an area where my old pitbull used to graze on the tall grass and she was really loopy one day after that tiny plant vanished. I found any other sprouts and pulled them, and when the front yard plant has expired I bag it and put it in the trash, not compost. If you've ever seen these things large, the flowers open at dusk and attract sphinx moths and probably bats for pollination. By mid-morning the next day they're finished and drooping. Sacred datura by moonlight is lovely.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Penny S.
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 10:43 AM

One of the first things I spotted in my new garden (in Kent, nearish to London) was a datura/jimsonweed/thornapple aka whatever else. I spotted its leaves and they triggered some memory or other. I thought at first it was a young giant hogweed with the very indented leaves, but then realised. I looked it up on the Royal Horticultural Society website, and, as a consequence, when i had photographed the flower and the fruit, dug it up with rubber gloves on (the active chemical can be absorbed through the skin) put it in a bin bag, every part, and took it to the local dump where household rubbish goes to be incinerated. With the gloves. Apparently there are some parts which it is safe to compost, but I was taking no chances.
No idea where it came from, but interesting. When I was a child in Folkeston, there was a picture outside the police station (along with one of Colorado Beetle) with warnings about it being around in a local nature area. Where I never saw it, but wanted to.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 03:21 PM

Stilly I read all 3 Carlos books starting at 18.
The silver umbilical cord came in handy for cliff climbing.

BWL Trout was a creep.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 03:03 PM

I love growing the Trumpet flowers that can be almost a foot long.
They smell as sweet as Jean Nate'. Brewed with wine it makes a frightening drink.
The psychic effects of jimson weed are unpredictable and unrecoverable as memory goes.
Do not get seduced by the dark side. These plants require research but not recreational exploration.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jack Campin
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 11:35 AM

Datura stramonium (jimson weed) is a nightshade. Morning glories aren't, and ones that have hallucinogenic effects have a pharmacology resembling LSD, not anticholinergic properties.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 11:17 AM

We have wild native jimson weed/sacred datura that is in the same family (Convolvulaceae/morning glory) as the popular brugmansia/angel trumpet. I sent some seeds to a fellow Mudcatter in the UK and they didn't do well at all in his well-tended garden. Too wet, too cool, too dark. But that was a relatively controlled experiment. For cultural references in the US, think of the late-1960s/early 1970s series of books by Carlos Castaneda ( The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge; A Separate Reality; and Journey to Ixtlan).

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jack Campin
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 08:20 AM

Many years ago I heard an episode of the Beechgrove Potting Shed radio phone-in gardening programme where a listener was asking about a thorn apple she'd been induced to grow. That's the English for Datura stramonium. The BPS panel had never heard of it and insisted on mishearing the name as "fawn apple". They finally worked out that it was trouble. I already knew about it, though I'd never seen one, from the psychedelic culture. It's an anticholinergic hallucinogen, producing delirium lasting anything up to days with totally realistic hallucinations and some risk of death or permanent brain damage. Used in some cultures as an ordeal poison. Probably what you'd want to spread around if you wanted people to be afraid of imaginary immigrants and believe in Brexit.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 07:24 PM

I know a couple people who received them. One friend talked about them on Facebook before the story hit the news.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 06:00 PM

They are arriving quite a bit here in UK. The Mail on Sunday's gardening expert identified some as Datura (also known as Vespertine, or devil's trumpets), which is an attractive tall bush with showy flowers, but it's very poisonous.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 04:45 PM

Beware, these seeds may be fiendishly disguised sneaky red commie Chinese soldiers,
just don't get water on them...

They have the technology...!!! [obviously stolen from the US of A...]

Yes, stolen from the USA, but not from the military. The technology was hijacked in an act of industrial espionage perpetrated upon the laboratories of Kilgore Trout Industries Inc.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 11:34 AM

There are several trains of thought regarding these seeds. Harmful or harmless, there are a lot of them, there are lots of types of seeds, and they're sent from China, often with the parcel saying something else like "Ring" or "gift," etc. The marketing scam theory with ratings is apparently tied to the address that receives it, but it's still vague. Someone will eventually get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, share a photo if you want but be wise and seal it in a ziplock bag and let your local county or state agriculture office know it has arrived.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jos
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 05:25 AM

If I don't get any I'll be a bit disappointed, after all this hype - I wouldn't plant them though, not unless they are proved harmless.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: The Sandman
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 05:21 AM

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Dave the Gnome - PM
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 05:01 AM

So, has anyone said what the seeds actually are or who sent them yet?" could they be the seeds of love or an aphrodisiac

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 05:11 AM

Has anyone here actually received any seeds themselves? Or have they all been sent to friends of friends? Or is it just something that you read somewhere?

DC

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 05:01 AM

So, has anyone said what the seeds actually are or who sent them yet?

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jos
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 02:37 AM

Wouldn't the seeds need to be offered for sale on Amazon for someone to write a review of them on the Amazon listing? And if they are offered for sale on Amazon, won't the seller be revealed?

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: leeneia
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 02:30 AM

I don't think amazon reviews give the name of the reviewer.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 04:49 PM

And darling Boris has apparently viewed Brexit as golden opportunity for British farmers to make fortunes out of GM crops.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 03:41 PM

An old British movie 'No Blade of Grass' was about seeds that would render similar species via pollen forever sterile thus making extinct barley, rye, wheat or any other grass and grain.

30 years later Monsanto Inc. found a way to make such seeds a reality so that farmers would have to buy Monsanto seeds every year.
It caused normal crops to make sterile seed. Frankenseeds caused terrible trouble in the US along with farm loss. In India these seeds contributed to many farmer suicides.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 03:27 PM

From what I read in the press it is not whether or endorsements
anyway - something to do with the mysteries of their algorithms for recommended sales suppliers

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 12:36 PM

Nigel - yep.. that's the film..

..and we can proudly claim one of the hilariously worst sci fi movies ever released was made in England...

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 12:31 PM

This has been discussed on the BBC R4 current affairs programme PM a few minutes ago, with someone from Planthealth UK telling people what to do with the seeds, coming from China, Taiwan and Singapore. They have seen squash family type seeds and some like sunflower seeds. They will be looking at DNA after identifying them in the usual sort of way.

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 11:39 AM

pfr:
Battle Beneath the Earth (1967)

Subject: RE: Mysterious unsolicited seeds from China
From: Jos
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 09:01 AM

SPB-Cooperator: Are the seeds sent via Amazon, then?