twining

Twining is a growth habit and a textile technique, both characterized by twisting around another element. In botany, twining describes how certain climbing plants coil their stems around a support to reach light. In weaving and basketry, twining is a technique in which two or more warp strands twist around the weft to form textiles or baskets.

Botanical twining involves flexible stems that wrap around poles, wires, or other structures as the plant grows taller. The process combines growth patterns such as circumnutation and a thigmotropic response to touch, allowing the stem to latch onto supports. Twining plants may coil in a consistent direction, described as dextral (right-handed) or sinistral (left-handed). Common twining climbers include honeysuckles, wisterias, morning glories, and some clematis and passionflowers. The habit is advantageous in open habitats and tropical or temperate climates, enabling access to sunlight without investing in thick, self-supporting trunks.

In textile and basketry contexts, twining weaves use two or more warp elements that are twisted around the weft threads. This method creates strong, flexible fabrics and baskets with distinctive patterns. Twined fabrics differ from plain or twill weaves by the emphasis on the twisting of warp elements around the weft, often producing visible spirals or diagonal motifs. The technique is traditional in many cultures, used with natural fibers such as reed, bark, grasses, and palm.

Overall, twining describes a cooperative interaction between a growing organism or crafted material and its surrounding structure, whether it is a living plant climbing a support or fibers forming a woven pattern.