Fastigiate

Fastigiate (pronounced fa-stij-ee-it or fa-stij-yet)

(1) In zoology, joined together in a tapering adhering group.

(2) In botany, erect and parallel (as in branches) or having such branches; having erect branches, often appearing to form a single column with the stem.

(3) In palynology (the study of pollen grains and other spores, especially those found in archaeological or geological deposits), characterized by a fastigium, a cavity separating the intexine from the sexine near the endoaperture of a colporate pollen grain.

(4) A structure or design rising or tapering to a point (now rare and restricted mostly to technical use in various forms of architecture, including at the micro level).

1655–1665: From the from Medieval Latin fastīgātus (high, lofty; peaked), the construct being the Classical Latin fastīgi(um) (height, highest point, peak) + -ate.  The suffix -ate was a word-forming element used in forming nouns from Latin words ending in -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as estate, primate & senate).  Those that came to English via French often began with -at, but an -e was added in the fifteenth century or later to indicate the long vowel.  It can also mark adjectives formed from Latin perfect passive participle suffixes of first conjugation verbs -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as desolate, moderate & separate).  Again, often they were adopted in Middle English with an –at suffix, the -e appended after circa 1400; a doublet of –ee.  Fastigiate is a noun & adjective, fastigiation is a noun and fastigiated is an adjective; the noun plural is fastigiates.

Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London.

In botany, fastigiated shrubs or trees are those with an upright, columnar growth habit, usually with branches growing almost parallel to the main stem, a shape which makes them popular for use in smaller areas with limited lateral space, such as streetscapes, car-parks, and public recreation areas.  The Royal Arsenal sits on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London and beginning in the seventeenth century, it served as the headquarters of the Office of Ordnance and was until the 1960s a factory site where munitions were manufactured.  For much of that time it was also a research & development (R&D) centre for armor, ammunition & armaments (until in the twentieth century the explosions became too large and the civilian population began to encroach on the surrounding area).  The Ministry of Defence finally moved the last of its operations to other places in 1994 and now the site is in the throes of being re-developed for housing and community use.  Because of the location conveniently close to the city of London, Royal Arsenal has become a desirable residential area and as part of the plan for the open space, 24 English oak trees (Quercus robur (Fastigiata)) were planted in the public square, each up to 30 feet (9 m) in height.  The slender fastigiate form of oak selected is a popular variety among landscape architects who choose it because it provides so much foliage with a very small footprint and it’s ideal for locations where the desire is to retain a high proportion of the available sunlight.  The architects also note that being a former military site, the characteristic upright aspect of the Quercus robur recalls soldiers on parade.

Foliage of the liriodendron tulipifera Fastigiata (the common names including Upright Tulip Tree, Tulip Poplar & Whitewood) (left) and Lindsay Lohan in a floral maxi dress, London, 2016 (right).  Flower arrangers like fastigiated (upright) blooms because they can be interlaced into constructions to produce a three dimensional effect without the need for any underlying framework.  Clothing designers use fastigiates less than they do the big, open blooms like roses or carnations because when used in isolation, it’s easier with the latter to produce a more dramatic effect.  Lindsay Lohan has often worn floral fabrics but seldom were they fastigiates, the maxi dress in which she was photographed in London in 2016 a rare showing.  Upon publication however, most comment was about the fake tan and the fabric was neglected.

The cable-stayed Uddevalla Bridge crossing Sunninge sound near Uddevalla, Bohuslän, Sweden (left).  Pylons are inherently fastigitated structures and the two which support the roadway in a semi-fan arrangement are each 489 feet (149 m) high.  The Stonehenge-like structure in Windsor, Brisbane, Australia (right) is a part of the freeway architecture, the uprights essentially decorative but are said to play a part in sound reduction.

GM-X Stiletto (1964, left), GM Runabout (1964, centre) and Pontiac Grand Am (1973, right).  The Grand Am pictured is a factory one-off which was fitted with the 455 cubic inch (7.5 litre) Super Duty (SD) Pontiac V8.  The prototype used the original 310 horsepower version of the 455 SD which was declared unlawful by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because the manufacturer blatantly cheated during the certification process.  Consequently, during its two seasons of availability (1973-1974), the 455 SD offered in Pontiac’s Firebird and Trans Am was rated at a compliant 290 hp with plans to offer it in the Grand Am and GTO cancelled, the two prototypes scrapped.

Historically, fastigiated was used to describe a structure or design rising or tapering to a point.  It still occasionally appears in the context of architecture but now it seems a fixture only in the technical journals of those discussing the very big (cosmology) or the very small (anything microscopic or smaller still).  The sharp-central point was a feature of a number of automobiles before governments started passing safety laws in the post-war years but General Motors (GM) which had during the 1950s built many bizarre (some frankly absurd) “show cars” with a prominent point couldn’t resist the motif and at the New York World's Fair in 1964 displayed the Runabout and the GM-X Stiletto.  The Runabout was genuinely thoughtful, a 3-wheeled “city car” with a front wheel which could turn 180^o, enabling a tight turning circle and an ease of parking which was astonishing by the standards of the era.  The tail-end contained two detachable shopping trolleys with wheels which folded-away when they were stored as an integral part of the rear compartment; remarkably, the little machine had space for two adults and three children.  Reflecting the spirit of the age, GM’s promotional material noted it was an ideal design for women shopping at the still quite novel supermarkets but that men could use it too because easily it would accommodate a set of golf clubs.  The fastigiated nose made a final appearance (although they’re seen still on racing cars) on the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am but it was lawful only because it was made from a closed-cell urethane foam, bonded to a steel frame, a clever (if for years troublesome to manufacture) design introduced on the 1968 GTO and called “Endura”.  The attraction of Endura was that at the time it convinced the regulators it was harmless to others, thus the survival of the sharp point for a few more years.