In this world, there are many tools one may use to direct magic. One of the most well known of these is the wand. Of course it is a common saying that "The wand chooses the wizard", with all wands having a degree of awareness with which they select...
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This very rare wand wood creates a wand of strange power, most highly prized by the wizarding students of the school of Mahoutokoro in Japan, where those who own cherry wands have special prestige. The Western wand-purchaser should dispel from their minds any notion that the pink blossom of the living tree makes for a frivolous or merely ornamental wand, for cherry wood often makes a wand that possesses truly lethal power, whatever the core, but if teamed with dragon heartstring, the wand ought never to be teamed with a wizard without exceptional self-control and strength of mind.
There are a great many cherry species in the United States, some native, and some introduced. Despite this variety, not all species see equal use in wand making. Some do not grow large enough, others produce low-quality wood, and yet others have too limited a range to see much use. As a result, four species of cherry dominate in the States: the Black Cherry, P. serotina, the Sweet Cherry, P. avium, the Sour Cherry, P. cerasus, and the Ornamental Cherries. This is not to say that one never sees wands from other cherries, just that they are vanishingly rare.
The Black Cherry is the most common cherry by a wide margin. The wood is easy to work with and is widely distributed in the eastern half of the country. Wands made from Black Cherry are slightly more grounded than standard cherry wands but are still very lethal. A beautiful native wood, black cherry is readily obtainable in the States. The wood is noted for its excellent workability and rich, warm color. Black Cherry still has the lethal power that marks other cherries, but is more stabilizing and grounding. Most American wand makers prefer this species and can be dismissive of other cherry woods. Interestingly, Magical America strictly controls the export of magical Black Cherry, explaining its rarity outside of the Americas.
Sweet and Sour Cherries are domesticated species. Both tend to see more use on the west coast as Black Cherry is not native in that region. They share more in common with standard cherry than Black Cherry, with Sour Cherry being a hair stronger. Curiously, wands from both trees are reported to be fairly sensitive to their masters, at least when compared to the standard. The current theory is that this may be an effect of domestication.
Ornamental Cherries are normally Japanese Cherry, P. serrulata, but there are multiple hybrids and cultivars in existence. Wands carved from these trees are most popular among Japanese-American wandmakers.*
*It would seem that the Cherry used by Ollivander belongs to this last group, as he mentions its use in Japan and its pink blossoms.
Thoughts
Considered highly prestigious in Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, Japan, and the United States, with the Japanese-American wizarding community, cherry is an extraordinarily powerful wand wood and demands, to summarize from Ollivander, "owners with the highest self-control and mental strength." Though Ollivander specifies this for dragon heartstring wands, such qualities are recommended for any cherry wand owner, lest they desire for their wand to run the show.
These witches and wizards believe in fate or destiny, and so they believe things happen for a reason. There is an acceptance that they don't have complete control over what happens to them, but that they also have control over their own actions. They may be hyper-responsible as a result and may even blame themselves for events unrelated to themselves.
They try to live like every day is their last– they do not want any regrets to follow them like ghosts. In doing so, they can be honest to the point of bluntness and will try everything they can. They also try to see the beauty in everything and believe immortality is more of a curse than a gift. As cliche as it may be– transience, to them, is what makes life on earth beautiful and worth it. These people will fight on a day-to-day basis for what they believe in, which is one of the reasons for this wand's reputation of choosing warriors. So, despite their acceptance of fate, they are stubborn folk and refuse to yield.
There is talent in magic that deals with time, beauty, and fortune. Depending on the core, these concepts can be formed in a variety of ways– the core works at molding these into action and substance. Cherry wands perform the most admirably in transfiguration, charms, divination, herbology, and astronomy. It does not perform well in alchemical endeavors. When performing magic, this wand emits sparks of white and various pinks. A soft cherry blossom scent lingers around this wood. If the wand thinks its owner is weak-willed, it may try to perform spells without the owner's consent. It does not like cores it considers shallow or flippant.
