I. We give a combinatorial analysis of rational rotation subsets of the circle. These are invariant subsets that have well-defined rational rotation numbers under the standard self-covering maps of $S^1$. This analysis has applications to the classification of dynamical systems generated by polynomials in one complex variable.

II. Douady, Hubbard and Branner have introduced the concept of a "limb" in the Mandelbrot set. A quadratic map $f(z)=z^2+c$ belongs to the $p/q$ limb if and only if there exist q external rays of its Julia set which land at a common fixed point of $f$, and which are permuted by $f$ with combinatorial rotation number $p/q$ in $Q/Z$, $p/q  \neq 0$). (Compare Figure 1 and Appendix C, as well as Lemma 2.2.) This note will make a similar analysis of higher degree polynomials by introducing the concept of the "fixed point portrait" of a monic polynomial map.