Our story
From the forest to the flask
Prima Materia Labs grew out of years of study in mycology, herbalism and laboratory alchemy, the same work that started Feral Fungi. We make extracts for other brands with the same hands, the same facility and the same standards.
How it started
Fungi at the center, plants all around
My work has always lived where fungi and plants meet. I’ve spent sixteen years studying medicinal mushrooms and fourteen in traditional alchemy and herbalism. Fungi stay at the center, while ethnobotany, Western herbalism and Ayurveda shape how I approach every plant and mushroom that comes through our door.
Along the way I got to know the growers and harvesters who became our suppliers, many of them years before Feral Fungi existed. I started Feral Fungi in 2016 in Estacada, Oregon. Prima Materia Labs is how we bring that same care to other brands: whole mushrooms and herbs, carefully sourced and identified, extracted in our cGMP certified facility using methods rooted in traditional laboratory alchemy.
Lineage
Rooted in tradition
Most of what we do in the lab traces back to the teachers I’ve studied with over the last fifteen years. These are a few of the most influential.
Ethnobotany
Kathleen Harrison
My path into ethnobotany started with a two week class on the Big Island of Hawaii with ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison. Her work taught me to look closely at the world around me, at the cultures that carry stories, and at the plants and fungi that touch every part of our lives.
Laboratory alchemy
Robert Bartlett
I began studying traditional laboratory alchemy and spagyrics with Robert Bartlett in 2012, and I’ve been entwined in its philosophy and practice ever since. Rounds of Prima, Secunda and Tertia, and a lot of late nights in the lab, shaped my cosmology and practice.
Herbalism
Sajah Popham and David Winston
Alchemy made me want to learn more about the plants and how to work with them. I studied foundational and clinical herbalism with Sajah Popham at the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, and recently began the two year clinical herbalism program at David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies.
Ayurveda
Todd Caldecott and Vaidya Madhu Bajracharya
I studied Ayurveda with Todd Caldecott through his Inside Ayurveda program, then continued in Nepal under Vaidya Madhu Bajracharya, an eighth generation practitioner, shadowing him in clinic and learning traditional preparations in the Rasa Shastra lineage.
“We bring the cosmology and philosophy of alchemy together with modern equipment to make something truly unique from some of our most potent allies.”
Jason Scott, Founder
Beyond the lab
Teaching, writing and advocacy
Education has always been part of this work for me. I’ve written about mushrooms and alchemy, including a contribution to Peter McCoy’s Radical Mycology and an essay in Verdant Gnosis, and I’ve joined a number of podcasts to talk through what we do and why.
These days a lot of that energy goes into the industry itself. I serve on the Board of Trustees of the American Herbal Products Association and chair its Small Business Committee, and I work with testing labs to develop standards and methods for proper mushroom identification and quality markers. The goal is to make it easier for everyone to know what’s in a botanical or mushroom product.
Our team
The people behind every batch
Every batch is made by hand by our dedicated team in Estacada, Oregon.
For your brand
What this means for your products
Real expertise in the room
The person shaping your formula has spent years in the woods, the lab and the industry.
Tradition with modern standards
Spagyric and dual extraction, carried out in an SGS cGMP certified facility.
People you can reach
A dedicated team that answers your questions and knows your project by name.
Next step
Have a product in mind?
Tell us what you are building. We reply within 2 to 3 business days.