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A genus of Gorgoniacea, formerly very extensive, but now restricted to such species as the West Indian sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum), sea plume (G. setosa), and other allied species having a flexible, horny axis.

One of the principal divisions of Alcyonaria, including those forms which have a firm and usually branched axis, covered with a porous crust, or c

o, or resembling, a Gorgon; terrifying into stone; terrific. The rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move. Milton.

One of the Gorgoniacea; -- so called because the fleshy part surrounds a solid axis, like a bark.

See Gorgoniacea.

See Gorgonian, 1.

æ, composed of joints of white, stony coral, alternating with flexible, horny joints. See Gorgoniacea.

A gorgonian coral having a horny axis.

A hard, or stony, plantlike organism, as the gorgonians, corals, and corallines, esp. those gorgonians having a calcareous axis. All the lithophytes except the corallines are animals.

or parts, when arranged in rows so as to have a plumelike appearance; as, a pinnule of a gorgonia; the pinnules of a crinoid.

id; the state of being rigid; rigidity; stiffness; hardness. The rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move. Milton.

m or axis of most compound alcyonarians; -- called also foot secretion. See Illust. under Gorgoniacea, and Coenenchyma. -- Scler`o*ba"sic, a.

Any gorgonian which branches in a fanlike form, especially Gorgonia flabellum of Florida and the West Indies.

Any gorgonian which branches in a plumelike form.

Any gorgonian which branches like a fern.

A gorgonian having a simple stem.

A gorgonian coral with long flexible branches.

The basal portion of the body of one of the Pennatulacea, or of a gorgonian.

hell. Called also Venus's shell. -- Venus's fan (Zoöl.), a common reticulated, fanshaped gorgonia (Gorgonia flabellum) native of Florida and the West Indies. When fresh the color is purple or yellow, or a mixture of the two. -- Venus's flytrap. (Bot.) See Flytrap, 2. -- Venus's girdle (Zoöl.), a long, flat, ribbonli…

imals which more or less resemble plants in appearance, or mode of growth, as the corals, gorgonians, sea anemones, hydroids, bryozoans, sponges, etc., especially any of those that form compound colonies having a branched or treelike form, as many corals and hydroids.