Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe and North America. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, and European black elderberry. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. Elder is cited as a poisonous plant for mammals, and as a weed in certain habitats.
The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time. The old superstition, 'wand of elder, never prosper,' has its basis in this fear of the wand, but in fact, the superstition is baseless, and those foolish wandmakers who refuse to work with elder do so more because they doubt they will be able to sell their products than from fear of working with this wood. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny. An additional fact that I have unearthed during my long years of study is that the owners of elder wands almost always feel a powerful affinity with those chosen by rowan.
Elder wands only want witches and wizards with great ambition and loyalty as their owners. Odd ducks, these people are torn between wanting to focus on themselves as well as nurture others. They have remarkable minds, able to connect or parallel two unrelated things seamlessly. Often top students, academics come easy to them. As such, their minds are somewhat under-stimulated by most academic environments. They get bored. And this boredom leads to small bouts of mischief as they like to perform small 'experiments' (AKA pranks) just to see what happens. Though teachers and professors may adore them, their peers often do not. Weirdness seems to be attracted to them. Many weird events happen to them and around their vicinity. They may diagnose themselves with chronic bad luck. To the few that have earned their respect and love (and can keep them amused), elder wand owners are nurturing and loyal to the death. They are willing to die or go to hell and back for their loved ones. They can be vengeful for the smallest of slights to their pride. Generally, there is a talent with music. Lullabies and soothing music seem to be their specialty. There is talent in magic to do with time, death, hypnosis, sleep and dreams, taming creatures, and illusions. Depending on the core, there may also be talent with prophecy and warding off evil spirits. This wand casts the imperius curse the strongest out of all the wand woods. Elder wands perform well or excellent in all subjects. Any subjects the owner finds difficult is dependent upon the wand's core. It is one of the best wands for care of magical creatures and charms.
Violet, gold, and navy blue shapes of various forms float from this wand during spellwork. These shapes are said to reveal the owner's feelings and intentions. Its magic smells of lemongrass, anise, and poppy seeds. Elder wands are at their strongest during midsummer eve, and during the darkest days of winter. Despite their own fire-based nature, elder wands are weak to fire, and may scream a shrill high-pitched sound if burned. Feathery marks etch themselves into the wand as the owner and wand bond– the more marks the more bonded the pair are. The scent of lemons and grass is emitted from this wand at night time to help its owner sleep more peacefully.
As Ollivander says,elder wands and their owners have a powerful affinity with rowan and its owners. Birch owners and elder owners tend to butt heads.
Flies are repelled by this wand. The most powerful wand in the world is made of elder wood.