Re: does a stash *need* any reference to the branch on which it was created?

"Robert P. J. Day" [off-list ref] writes:

  i realize that, when you "git stash push", stash graciously saves
the branch you were on as part of the commit message, but does any
subsequent stash operation technically *need* that branch name?

It is not "saves", but "the message it automatically generates
includes <branch> and <commit title> as a human readable reminder".

"git stash" does not have to read that message, as it is not
prepared to read and understand what you wrote after you ran your
own "git stash push -m 'my random message'" anyway.  It is merely
for your consumption, especially when it appears in "git stash list".