Monsoon rains have created plenty of moisture to grow wild mushrooms, some of which can be poisonous. New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center report an increase in calls about poisonous mushrooms.

“I think it’s an uptick because of the monsoon, but it does concern me that we have more hospitalizations,” New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center Director Susan Smolinske told KOB.

Smolinske said the center receives about 40 calls yearly related to poisonous mushrooms. As of Tuesday, the center has received 41 calls in 2022. She said a majority are from hospitals treating patients who have ingested a poisonous mushroom. Smolinske said most of those cases involve people who picked and ingested wild mushrooms.

“It’s a statewide problem," Smolinske said. "Anywhere, there’s moisture, mushrooms will pop up. So we see it all over. When they pick the mushroom, it looked like something they saw in a picture book that was edible. So they picked it, and ate it, and then develop symptoms and ended up in the hospital.”

There are many poisonous mushrooms in New Mexico, Smolinske said. If ingested, those mushrooms can cause dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures and even death. “We’ve actually had no fatalities from mushrooms in New Mexico, but there have been in other states, and we do have the kind of mushroom that can be fatal found here,” she said.

Smolinske added that there are plenty of edible mushrooms in the state, but without the right training, it’s easy to make a fatal mistake.