A man in Chuzhou, East China’s Anhui Province on Monday got poisoned after eating lurid bolete and hallucinated that he had become an “Ultraman,” posing with various classic gestures from the TV shows. Photo: web

Mushroom poisoning in summer is not a rare event, especially recently when wild fungi have grown rapidly. Some people, out of curiosity or a desire for novelty, will buy some mushrooms, but consuming wild fungi without following cooking instructions can cause big problems. According to media reports, a man in Chuzhou, East China's Anhui Province on Monday got poisoned after eating lurid bolete and hallucinated that he had become an "Ultraman," posing with various classic gestures from the TV shows, which was quite amusing.

Lurid bolete is a kind of mushroom which turns blue when it is squeezed, torn, or cut. The man involved surnamed Xin said that he had seen many people eating this kind of mushroom and wanted to try it, so he bought it online and ate it. But by the afternoon, he began to feel uncomfortable, with symptoms of dizziness and nausea, so he went to hospital.

He claimed that his poisoning was mild, and he felt better by the night. During the poisoning, however, he had hallucinations that he saw monsters and turned himself into an "Ultraman," fighting and successfully defeating the monsters.

Wild fungi from Southwest China's Yunnan are well-loved for their delicious taste. On the afternoon of July 6, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing. Images online show that Yellen ordered four servings of lurid bolete at a Yunnan cuisine restaurant in Beijing.

Experts suggest that people should adhere to local culinary traditions in Yunnan when consuming fungi. It's safer to eat common varieties and avoid less familiar types.