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Don’t eat wild mushrooms, the IWK Regional Poison Centre cautioned Monday. The centre has had an increased numbed of calls about potential poisonings involving mushrooms this spring and summer, compared to previous years, said clinical leader Ruth Bona. None have resulted in serious illness this year, but eating wild mushrooms can be fatal. Ms. Bona said even people who think they can spot the difference between safe and unsafe mushrooms should not risk eating wild fungi.

"The safe mushroom can be located around the poisonous mushrooms and spores from the poisonous can get onto the safe mushroom," she said. "You think you’re eating a safe mushroom, but in essence, you could be receiving some of the poisons from the poison one." The Nova Scotia Museum’s Poison Plant Patch website lists five hazardous varieties of mushrooms, including one called the destroying angel, a white mushroom that is very common in this province. The site says as little as 30 grams of the mushroom can kill a healthy adult. There is no known antidote and the toxin can cause "terrible suffering" over a period of as long as 10 days.

Four other listed varieties are so-called magic mushrooms that can have an intoxicating or hallucinogenic effect but can lead to serious illness or death when consumed in quantity. Ms. Bona said magic mushroom use is one common means of poisoning her centre handles calls about. She said there’s no level of magic mushroom use that’s considered safe.

"It’s like any drugs of abuse," she said. "It’s completely individual in how people respond to it and how much it takes and how often you do it. There’s just too many variables." In the case of a poisoning emergency, call 911. If you’ve eaten wild mushrooms, the IWK Regional Poison Centre can be reached by calling 1-800-565-8161 or 470-8161 in Halifax Regional Municipality.