Dendronephthya hemprichi
Soft coral - Christmas tree coral - Carnation tree coral
Pink - red - purple - orange
Fiji
Completely devoid of a rigid skeletal support, the single polyp has a very elongated tubular shape, the oral orifice opens at the top of the column, surrounded by a small oral disc; the oral disc, or stoma, is surrounded by a small crown formed by eight tentacles, with jagged edges, not very stinging.
The colony is firmly fixed to the substrate by means of an adhesive disk; the various individuals are largely immersed in the common cenosarchus, a channeled epithelial tissue that connects all the gastro-vascular cavities of the polyps, leaving only the terminal part everted; inside the cenosarch there is a large number of calcareous spicules which are a valid aid in supporting the colony with a gelatinous consistency.