Re: totems for climbers

In a message dated 05/14/2002 11:34:49 AM Pacific Daylight Time, wont_read101@hotmail.com writes:


Forgive a newcomer's ignorance, but to me, a totem is either a carving,
usually wooden, representing someone's ancestry; or a "spirit guide."  Would
this new use of the word be more of a flexible trellis, suitable for soft
material?

Your first meaning, a carving of someone's ancestry, is the basis for our meaning: a "totem," in horticulture, is a pole -- which reminded some people of a totem pole -- intended to substitute for a tree trunk for a plant that climbs by adventitious roots.

Jason Hernandez
Naturalist-at-Large
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