Fastigiate
/fah-STIJ-ee-it/🌱 Growth Habits●● Intermediate
Also known as: columnar, upright
Fastigiate describes trees or shrubs with strongly upright, columnar form where branches grow at acute angles close to the trunk. This growth habit creates a narrow silhouette ideal for tight spaces, screens, and formal landscapes. Examples include fastigiate European hornbeam, Lombardy poplar, and columnar apple cultivars. The term is frequently used in cultivar descriptions (e.g., Quercus robur 'Fastigiata').
Etymology
From Latin fastigium (gable end, summit, peak)
Example
“The fastigiate hornbeam provided an ideal narrow screen along the driveway without encroaching on the pavement.”