Wand wood

One of Ollivander's wands

Wand wood is an important property of wand-making in the Harry Potter book series. A wand core is put inside the wood which develops the personal character of wand and determines how powerful it will be. The wand wood and core could create an unusual combination.

About

A wand is created by a wood and core combination which develops the character of the wand. Wand wood is an important component in developing a wand. Certain kinds of wand woods and cores combine better than others, developing its power. Certain combinations create a dull wand or something unusual. The wood can only be collected from trees with wand-quality wood. Bowtruckles often nest in them. The trees are very protected by wandmakers who tend to them with care. Cutting them down will upset the Bowtruckles and cause the woodcutter to invoke the effect of the protective curses that the owners put on it.

There are also old superstitions surrounding wand wood. Witches and wizards are said to be incompatible if they have certain wand woods ("When his wand's oak and hers is holly, Then to marry would be folly"). It is also said to say something about the flaws of the owner ("Rowan gossips, chestnut drones, Ash is stubborn, hazel moans").

Known wood

Wand wood	Known owners
Ash	Charlie Weasley (handed down to Ronald Weasley)
	Cedric Diggory
Beechwood
Cherry	Neville Longbottom
	Mary Cattermole
Chestnut	Peter Pettigrew
Ebony
Elder	Albus Dumbledore
English oak	Rubeus Hagrid
Holly	Harry Potter
Mahogany	James Potter
Maple
Vine	Hermione Granger
Walnut	Bellatrix Lestrange
Willow	Lily Potter
	Ronald Weasley (second wand)
Yew	Tom Riddle

Author's Notes

• When Rowling found out the wand wood she picked for Harry correspond with his birthday on the Celtic tree calendar, she picked Ron and Hermione's wands in the same way so they have a hidden connection. July is Holly for Harry, March is Ash for Ron and September is Vine for Hermione.
• Rowling picked the Holly for Harry because the wood has certain connotations which are akin to his character, and it was unlike Voldemort's wand made of Yew. Holly fights evil while Yew will represent death and longevity.