Jacob's staff

For the plant known as the ocotillo, sometimes called the Jacob's staff, see ocotillo.

The term Jacob's staff, also cross-staff, a ballastella, a fore-staff, or a balestilha, is used to refer to several things. This can lead to considerable confusion unless one clarifies the purpose for which the object was named. In its most basic form, a Jacob's staff is a stick or pole with length markings; most staffs are much more complicated than that, and usually contain a number of measurement and stabilization features. The two most frequent uses are: