Alder

Appearance
Alder leaves are deciduous (not evergreen), alternate, simple, and serrated. The flowers are called catkins and have elongated male catkins on the same plant as the shorter female catkins, often before the leaves appear. They are mainly wind-pollinated, but bees and other insects also play a small role in this. They differ from the birches in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity, opening to release the seeds in a similar manner to many conifer cones.
The largest species are Red Alder on the west coast of North America and the Black Alder, native to most of Europe and widely introduced elsewhere, both reaching over 30 metres in height. By contrast, the widespread Green Alder is rarely more than a 5 metre tall shrub.

Properties
The Alder is an unusual tree, it is water loving yet is also highly combustible, making it very sacred as it combines the elements water and fire. Because of its fierce flame it is sometimes known as the warrior tree, its symbolism being that of strength, tenacity and determination. Because of its resistance to water it can be used to hold water elementals and negative spirits. Dyes can be made from its bark, flowers and twigs, one of which was red which the druids used to dye their faces during rituals.

Ash

Appearance
The 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species, are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English, while the generic name originated in Latin. Both words also meant "spear" in their respective languages. The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and are simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as keys or helicopter seeds, are a type of fruit known as a samara.

Properties
Ash also referred to as Yggdrasil in Northern Europe and known as the world tree was very sacred to the druids. Its main symbolism being that of stability as it links the inner and other worlds. It is used in spells that require focus and strength and is often used to banish mental strife. It is said that if you put its leaves under your pillow it will induce psychic dreams.

Birch

Appearance
Birch species are generally small to medium-size trees or shrubs, mostly of temperate climates. The simple leaves may be toothed or pointed. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders, in that the female catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody cone-like female alder catkins. The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long horizontal lenticels, and often separates into thin papery plates, especially upon the Paper Birch. It is practically imperishable, due to the resinous oil which it contains. Its decided colour gives the common names gray, white, black, silver and yellow birch to different species.
The buds form early and are full grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal bud is formed; the branch is prolonged by the upper lateral bud. The wood of all the species is close-grained with satiny texture and capable of taking a fine polish; its fuel value is fair.
The leaves of the different species vary but little. All are alternate, doubly serrate, feather-veined, and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like two-leaved lateral branches.

Properties
Birch is one of the first trees to grow on bare soil and has come to symbolize fertility, healing and rebirth. The tree itself was used for almost everything from canoes to producing sugar and represents that which is needed for everyday living. It is known for its protective healing abilities and is used to drive out evil spirits and as protection from the faery folk.

Blackthorn

Appearance
Blackthorn is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The leaves are oval, 2 to 4.5 cm long and 1.2 to 2 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The flowers are 1.5 cm diameter, with five slightly creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring, and are hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. The fruit, called a "sloe", is a drupe 10 to 12 mm in diameter, black with a pale purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn, and harvested — traditionally, at least in the UK, in October or November after the first frosts. Sloes are thin-fleshed, with a very strongly astringent flavour when fresh.
It is frequently confused with the related cherry plum, particularly in early spring when the latter starts flowering somewhat earlier than. They can be distinguished by flower colour, creamy white in pure white in. They can also be distinguished in winter by the more shrubby habit with stiffer, wider-angled branches of in summer by the relatively narrower leaves of, more than twice as long as broad. In autumn it can be identified by the colour of the fruit skin — purplish-black and yellow or red.

Properties
Blackthorn is a winter tree and is very hardy, it has black bark and is armed with vicious thorns and can be found growing in dense thickets. Its wood and its thorns are used for offensive magic like thundersticks or piercing effigies. The plant itself has come to represent fate or outside influences that must be followed.

Cedar

Appearance
Cedars are trees up to 30–40 m (occasionally 60 m) tall with spicy-resinous scented wood, thick ridged or square-cracked bark, and broad, level branches. The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots, which form the framework of the branches, and short shoots, which carry most of the leaves. The leaves are evergreen and needle-like, 8–60 mm long, arranged in an open spiral phyllotaxis on long shoots, and in dense spiral clusters of 15–45 together on short shoots; they vary from bright grass-green to dark green to strongly glaucous pale blue-green, depending on the thickness of the white wax layer which protects the leaves from desiccation. The seed cones are barrel-shaped, 6–12 cm long and 3–8 cm broad, green maturing grey-brown, and, as in Abies, disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds. The seeds are 10–15 mm long, with a 20–30 mm wing; as in Abies, the seeds have 2–3 resin blisters, containing an unpleasant-tasting resin, thought to be a defence against squirrel predation. Cone maturation takes one year, with pollination in autumn and the seeds maturing the same time a year later. The pollen cones are slender ovoid, 3–8 cm long, produced in late summer and shedding pollen in autumn.

Properties
Cedar wands cleanses negative atmospheres. Used for the creation of sacred spaces. Related to longevity, protection, and preservation, it is often used to summon helpful spirits during rituals and invocations.

Cherry

Appearance
Members of the genus can be deciduous or evergreen. A few species have spiny stems. The leaves are simple, alternate, un-lobed, and often with nectaries on the leaf stalk. The flowers are usually white to pink, sometimes red, with five petals and five sepals. There are numerous stamens. Flowers are borne singly, or in umbels of two to six or sometimes more on racemes. The fruit is a fleshy drupe (a "prune") with a single relatively large hard coated seed (a "stone").

Properties
Cherry wands are very centred and has very grounded energy. Earth energy is very well grounded, unwavering, and solid. Cherry is used in ritual to stabilize and focus. Cherry is often used for intuitive and insight and to overcome obstacles. This is an excellent choice for divination or medium work, as well as healing and love magic. Cherry is suited for use in hunting magic, working with animals and familiars, eroticism, unification of covens and groups, spells of detection, and amplifying spell work.

Chestnut

Appearance
Chestnut trees are of moderate growth rate (for the Chinese chestnut tree) to fast-growing for American and European species. Their mature heights vary from the smallest species, often shrubby, to the giant of past American forests that could reach 60 m. In between these extremes are found the Japanese chestnut at 10 m average; followed by the Chinese Chestnut at about 15 m, then the European chestnut around 30 m. Its bark is smooth when young, of a vinous maroon or red-brown colour for the American chestnut, grey for the European chestnut. With age American species' becomes grey and darker, thick and deeply furrowed; the furrows run longitudinally, and tend to twist around the trunk as the tree ages; it sometimes reminds one of a large cable with twisted strands.
The leaves are simple, ovate or lanceolate, 10 to 30 cm long and 4 to 10 cm wide, with sharply pointed, widely-spaced teeth, with shallow rounded sinuates between.
The flowers follow the leaves, appearing in late spring or early summer or onto July. They are arranged in long catkins of two kinds, with both kinds being borne on every tree. Some catkins are made of only male flowers, which mature first. Each flower has eight stamens, or 10 to 12. The ripe pollen carries a heavy sweet odour that some people find too sweet or unpleasant. Other catkins have these pollen-bearing flowers, but also carry near the twig from which these spring, small clusters of female or fruit-producing flowers. Two or three flowers together form a four-lobed prickly calybium, which ultimately grows completely together to make the brown hull, or husk, covering the fruits.
The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) cupule 5 to 11 cm in diameter, also called "bur" or "burr". The burrs are often paired or clustered on the branch and contain one to seven nuts according to the different species, varieties and cultivars. Around the time the fruits reach maturity, the burrs turn yellow-brown and split open in 2 or 4 sections. They can remain on the tree longer than they hold the fruit, but more often achieve complete opening and release the fruits only after having fallen on the ground; opening is partly due to soil humidity.

Properties
Artistic ability, magical knowledge, and optimism are provided by the enchanting use of Chestnut. The energy of chestnut wands promoted love and creativity allowing a person to move beyond self-serving modes of existence. Hazel is the bringer of change. Hazel also promotes creative expression, eloquence, and art of all types.

Ebony

Appearance
Ebony’s usually grow in a rounded manner, with a spreading or horizontal vase shape. The leaves are dark green bipinnately divided with oval leaflets. Most genus’ are known to have flowers which are creamy white or yellow in colour. These fragrant flowers make great additions to greenhouses and are good street and shade trees because of its ability to grow in small places with compacted soil. The Ebony tree blooms in late spring and intermittently throughout the summer. The fruit which is only produced during spring time are 4 to 6 inches long, and have seed pods that are black or brown.

Properties
Ebony is the most famous of the Dark woods, and is one of the most powerful wandwoods avaliable. It is strong in two ways: for visual impact and power. It is known to be a very receptive wood, and bonds with its owner effortlessly.

Elder

Appearance
The tree can be found in the northern and southern hemispheres of the world. The species or groups of the elder tree vary depending on what part of the world you are in. Also, the types of berries that are found on the tree also changes based on where you are at. For example, the red-berried tree is generally found in the colder parts of the northern hemisphere. This group of elder tree is small like a shrub. The European Dwarf Elder is found in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia and its berries are black. The elder tree has clusters of white or cream coloured flowers that generally bloom in the late spring. Once these clusters are gone, the elder tree will produce small berries that may vary in colour between black, blue-black or red. The flowers of the tree do have a use as they are used to make elderflower liqueur. Likewise, the berries can be used to make wine or jelly.

Properties
Elder is well known for its regenerative properties, it can easily regrow damaged branches and roots quickly from any part. It represents the end in the beginning and the beginning in the end. It was considered by some as unlucky as it was the abode of witches, but to others it was the tree of second sight that allowed you to see the faery folk. It was a sacred tree and it was not allowed to be damaged in anyway the druids used it both for spells and curses. It was believed that if you bathed your eyes in the sap of the wood it allowed you to see faeries and witches.

Elm

Appearance
Elm leaves are alternate, with simple, single- or, most commonly, doubly serrate margins, usually asymmetric at the base and acuminate at the apex. The genus is hermaphroditic, having apetalous (petal-less) perfect flowers which are mostly wind-pollinated, although bees do visit them. The fruit is a round wind-dispersed samara flushed with chlorophyll, facilitating photosynthesis before the leaves emerge. All species are tolerant of a wide range of soils and pH levels but, with few exceptions, demand good drainage.

Properties
Use of the Elm wands is strong in magic used concerning endurance, fertility, horticulture, passage thru death and phases of life, rebirth, and invocation of the Goddess. Elm adds stability, grounding, and focus to spell working.

Hawthorn

Appearance
They are shrubs or small trees, mostly growing to 5–15 m tall, with small pome fruit and (usually) thorny branches. The most common type of bark is smooth grey in young individuals, developing shallow longitudinal fissures with narrow ridges in older trees. The thorns are small sharp-tipped branches that arise either from other branches or from the trunk, and are typically 1–3 cm long (recorded as up to 11.5 cm in one case). The leaves grow spirally arranged on long shoots, and in clusters on spur shoots on the branches or twigs. The leaves of most species have lobed or serrate margins and are somewhat variable in shape.

Properties
Also known as the Whitethorn, it is considered to be one of the most powerful trees. It is closely associated with witchcraft, protection, fertility. It is often used for love/marriage spells and protection with its powers of dispelling negative energy and strife. The Hawthorn is said to stand at the doors of the other world and is sometimes called the faery tree and can be found 'guarding' cemeteries and holy places. The tree except in May is usually regarded as a very unlucky tree due to its contradictory nature of having beautiful flowers and deadly thorns.

Hazel

Appearance
They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins. The flowers are produced very early in spring before the leaves, and are monoecious, with single-sex catkins, the male pale yellow and 5–12 cm long, the female very small and largely concealed in the buds, with only the bright red 1–3 mm long styles visible. The seeds are nuts 1–2.5 cm long and 1–2 cm diameter, surrounded by an husk which partly to fully encloses the nut.

Properties
The Hazel is considered one of the most important trees it is very closely related to the salmon, who eats its nuts of poetic wisdom. Its associations are: intuition; poetry; divination; meditation; wisdom; knowledge and fertility. The nuts have been eaten to gain knowledge, they have also been used as part of a hallucinogenic brew to induce visions. In addition many love spells and aphrodisiacs can be made from its nut.

Holly

Appearance
They have alternate, simple leaves and single or clustered, small, usually greenish flowers (male and female being usually on separate plants). English holly is a tree which grows up to 15 m (nearly 50 feet) tall, bears shining, spiny, dark, evergreen leaves and usually red fruits.

Properties
Holly is associated with the cycle of death and rebirth representing winter winning over summer. With this symbolism in mind it is good for spells that involve sleep or rest. Because of its bristles and its use in making spears it is closely associated with combat and protection, warding away evil spirits and also signifying the virtues of balance and directness. It is favoured during the winter season as lucky with its beautiful leaves and berries being very colourful against the dead landscape giving hope for the following summer during the dark months.

Hornbeam

Appearance
The leaves are deciduous, alternate, and simple with a serrated margin, and typically vary from 3–10 cm in length. The flowers are wind-pollinated pendulous catkins, produced in spring. The male and female flowers are on separate catkins, but on the same tree. The fruit is a small nut about 3–6 mm long, held in a leafy bract; the bract may be either tri-lobed or simple oval, and is slightly asymmetrical. The asymmetry of the seedwing makes it spin as it falls, improving wind dispersal. The shape of the wing is important in the identification of different hornbeam species. There are typically 10–30 seeds on each seed catkin.

Properties
Hornbeam, or ironwood, is considered to be the most stubborn of wand woods. Those who have the necessary will to master it will be rewarded with an extremely powerful wand.

Ivy

Appearance
Ivies have two leaf types, with palmately lobed juvenile leaves on creeping and climbing stems, and unlobed cordate adult leaves on fertile flowering stems exposed to full sun, usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces, from 2 metres or more above ground. The juvenile and adult shoots also differ, the former being slender, flexible and scrambling or climbing with small aerial roots to affix the shoot to the substrate (rock or tree bark), the latter thicker, self-supporting, and without roots. The flowers are greenish-yellow with five small petals; they are produced in umbels in autumn to early winter, and are very rich in nectar. The fruit is a greenish-black, dark purple, or in a few rare cases yellow. The berry is 5–10 mm in diameter with one to five seeds, ripening in late winter to mid spring; the seeds are dispersed by birds which eat the berries.

Properties
Ivy is able to thrive and grow in almost all environments, it is extremely strong and is very difficult to destroy. Its stalks grow in what appears a helix and therefore represents the growing spiral of self enlightenment that was sacred to the Celts. It symbolizes the soul and its journeys both inner and outer on its search for nourishment.

Mahogany

Appearance
It is usually taken to consist of three species, geographically separated. They are medium-sized to large trees growing to 20–45 metre tall, and up to 2 metre trunk diameter. The leaves are 10–30cm long, pinnate, with 3-6 pairs of leaflets, the terminal leaflet absent; each leaflet is 5–15cm long. The leaves are deciduous to semi-evergreen, falling shortly before the new foliage grows. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences, each flower small, with five white to greenish-yellowish petals. The fruit is a pear-shaped five-valved capsule 8–20cm long, containing numerous winged seeds about 5–9cm long.
The three species are poorly defined biologically, in part because they hybridize freely when grown in proximity.

Properties
Mahogany wands are used in the magic of divination. Aspiration, desire, and victory are all key elements of this wood. Used while working with ancestors, old wisdom, and magical research.

Oak

Appearance
Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with a lobed margin in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with a smooth margin. The flowers are catkins, produced in spring. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on species. The live oaks are distinguished for being evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group and instead are dispersed across the genus.

Properties
Oak has always been respected by nearly all world cultures. Admired for its strength and size it represents strength, endurance and power. Because it is often struck by lightening it has become associated with having the ability to attract inspiration, wisdom and illumination. Oak galls were known as Serpent Eggs and were used in magic and charms. It has also been associated with fertility. The oak is considered very sacred to the druids and there name has even been linked as a derivative of duir (oak).

Reed

Appearance
The erect stems grow to 2–6 metres (6ft 7in–19ft 8in) tall, with the tallest plants growing in areas with hot summers and fertile growing conditions.
The leaves are long for a grass, 20–50 centimetres (7.9–20 in) and 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.2 in) broad. The flowers are produced in late summer in a dense, dark purple panicle, about 20–50*cm long. Later the numerous long, narrow, sharp pointed spikelets appear greyer due to the growth of long, silky hairs. When harvested correctly the Reed stems become hard, but pliable making good hardy wands.

Properties
Some cultures primarily use Reed wands for spiritual healing, it is also known as a traveller’s wood. It enhances intellectual pursuits, acquiring knowledge, and communication. Spells concerning art, beauty, binding, and abundance should consider using this wood.

Rosewood

Appearance
Rosewood is a rounded, semi-evergreen tree with pinnate leaves made up of bright green leaflets with notched tips. Their heights vary between 30 and 100 ft. They have small pea-like flowers usually in yellow or apricot colours with rusty red veins which bloom in spring. Woody seed pods follow the blooms.

Properties
Rosewood is a strong, neutral wood that has no particular strengths or weaknesses, with the exception of one small quirk- it tends to function less effectively underwater.

Rowan

Appearance
Rowans are mostly small deciduous trees 10–20 m tall, though a few are shrubs. The leaves are arranged alternately, and are pinnate, with (7-)11-35 leaflets; a terminal leaflet is always present. The flowers are borne in dense corymbs; each flower is creamy white, and 5–10*mm across with five petals. The fruit is a small pome 4–8mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, but pink, yellow or white in some Asian species. The fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for birds, particularly waxwings and thrushes, which then distribute the Rowan seeds in their droppings. Due to their small size the fruits are often referred to as berries, but a berry is a simple fruit produced from a single ovary, whereas a pome is an accesory fruit.

Properties
The Rowan is also known as the Mountain Ash and the Witchtree (because of the pentagram that can be found at the base of its berries). It has always been regarded as an aid for protection against evil charms and enchantment. It is believed that if it is planted at the gate of your garden it will ward away evil spirits, if used as a walking stick it will protect the traveller from evil and guide him home safely. In addition it is associated with astral travel, vision and healing. The berries and leaves are dried and burned as incense to invoke spirits, familiars, spirit guides, and the elements.

Vine

Appearance
They are thorny, woody vines growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13cm long and 2-6cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colours associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow.

Properties
The Vine has been cultivated for a very long time throughout Europe and is one of the greatest suppliers of wine. Due to the heady effects of wine this plant was associated with the loss of inhibitions and the loosening of the tongue. It represents the release of prophetic powers and the revealing of truths.

Walnut

Appearance
They are deciduous trees, 10–40 metres tall (about 30–130 ft), with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long (7–35 in), with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories in the same family.

Properties
Walnut is associated with some old European superstitions. In seventeenth-century Italy, a walnut tree in Benevento was believed to be a gathering place for witches.

Willow

Appearance
Willows all have abundant watery bark, sap which is heavily charged with salicylic acid, soft, usually pliant, tough wood, slender branches, and large, fibrous, often stoloniferous roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to life, and roots readily grow from aerial parts of the plant.
The leaves are typically elongated but may also be round to oval, frequently with a serrated margin. Most species are deciduous; semi-evergreen willows with coriaceous leaves are rare. All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale, enclosing at its base two minute opposite buds, alternately arranged, with two small, opposite, scale-like leaves. This first pair soon fall, and the later leaves are alternately arranged. The leaves are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf petioles are short, the stipules often very conspicuous, looking like tiny round leaves and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and fugacious (soon falling). In colour the leaves show a great variety of greens, ranging from yellowish to bluish. Willows are dioecious with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves, or as the new leaves open.

Properties
The Willow is regarded as feminine and is closely associated with the moon and water. It is seen as a melancholic tree representing sadness, it is believed sitting underneath it will soothe the emotions and banish depression and sadness. In addition it was associated to love, healing, rhythms, and the gaining of eloquence, inspiration, growth and skills. It is said to protect from enchantment.

Yew

Appearance
It is a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) (exceptionally up to 28m/92ft) tall, with a trunk up to 2 metres (6ft 7in) (exceptionally 4m/13ft) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.6 in) long and 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.12 in) broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious.
The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in) long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8–15 millimetres (0.31–0.59 in) long and wide and open at the end. The arils are mature 6–9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings; maturation of the arils is spread over 2–3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seeds themselves are extremely poisonous and bitter, but are opened and eaten by some bird species including Hawfinches. The aril is not poisonous, and is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 3–6 millimetres (0.12–0.24 in) diameter, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is mostly dioecious, but occasional individuals can be variably monoecious

Properties
The Yew tree is sometimes regarded as the most sacred tree to the druids with it symbolism of death and rebirth (due to the fact that the outer tree dies and a new tree grows within). It represents transformation & reincarnation and may be used to enhance magical/psychic abilities as well as induce vision. All parts of the yew are poisonous apart from the berry covering and it was used to poison weapons, it was also used to make bows.