======Powaka Wood======
=====Wand Wood Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Wand Wood]], [[Magical Plant]]
  * **Notable Wands:** [[Isolt Sayre]]'s first [[wand]]
  * **Origin:** Native to North America (Pottermore)
=====Description and Appearance=====
Powaka is a type of [[wand wood]] derived from a prickly bush native to North America (Pottermore). The wood itself is known to be poisonous (Pottermore).
After the [[wand]] of [[Isolt Sayre]], made from Powaka wood, was buried on the grounds of [[Ilvermorny]], it grew into a unique type of snakewood tree that could not be pruned or killed (Pottermore).
=====Magical Properties and Usage=====
As a [[wand wood]], Powaka is known to be poisonous and is highly sought after by [[Dark Wizards]] (Pottermore). It is described as being particularly suited to [[Parselmouths]] or those descended from the line of [[Salazar Slytherin]] (Pottermore). Its poisonous nature likely contributes to its affinity with powerful, and often dark, [[magic]] (Pottermore).
When [[Isolt Sayre]]'s Powaka wand was buried, it grew into a unique snakewood tree. The leaves of this tree were discovered to have powerful medicinal and healing properties (Pottermore).
=====History=====
The most notable use of Powaka wood is in the first [[wand]] of [[Ilvermorny]] founder [[Isolt Sayre]] (Pottermore). As a child in [[Ireland]], she created a rudimentary wand from a branch of a Powaka bush that her aunt, [[Gormlaith Gaunt]], had brought back from her travels (Pottermore). This wand had a core of [[Horned Serpent]] horn, from a magical creature Isolt had befriended in America (Pottermore).
After [[Gormlaith Gaunt]] attacked [[Ilvermorny]], Isolt and her husband [[James Steward]] determined the wand was too dangerous to keep. It had an affinity for [[Dark Magic]] and was connected to [[Salazar Slytherin]]'s own [[wand]] through the [[Horned Serpent]] horn core, which contained a sliver of basilisk horn (Pottermore). They buried it on the [[Ilvermorny]] grounds, where it grew into the un-prunable and magical snakewood tree (Pottermore). This tree resisted all attempts to prune or kill it, serving as a testament to the powerful [[magic]] embedded within the original wand (Pottermore).
=====Role in the Story=====
Powaka wood is not mentioned in the original seven //Harry Potter// novels. Its significance is confined to the expanded universe lore published on Pottermore (now Wizarding World), where it plays a crucial role in the backstory of the North American school of magic, [[Ilvermorny]], and its founder, [[Isolt Sayre]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
All known information about Powaka wood comes from the short story //Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry//, written by [[J.K. Rowling]] and published on the Pottermore website in 2016.