Cephalotaxus harringtonii 'Fastigiata' is a slow-growing, columnar selection of Japanese Plum-yew that grows as a broad cluster of stiff, erect stems and glossy, very dark green leaves that radiate about the stem and are strongly decurved in shape. The shoots are unbranched in the upper parts of the plant, while the lower parts have somewhat chaotic projecting side-shoots that hang down and contain leaves in flat ranks. The flowers are inconspicuous.
After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 4 to 6 feet (1.3 - 2 m) tall and 16 inches (40 cm) wide, an annual growth rate of 6 to 8 inches (15 - 20 cm).
This is an old cultivar in the nursery trade, known to exist in Japan from the early 1860s.
