Species introCountry intro
Black sea rod coral
The central stalk and branches are black (from where it gets its name) or dark brown and the polyps cream-colored, yellow or pale brown.
It grows at depths down to about 55 metres (180 ft). There are 2 sub species. This one would be Plexaura homomalla forma homomalla, being more abundant in shallow waters. The other, Plexaura homomalla forma kuekenthali, is mostly in the greater depths.
''Plexaura homomalla'', commonly known as the black sea rod or Caribbean sea whip, is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae. It is widely distributed in the Caribbean from the Florida Keys to the northern coast of Venezuela. ''P. Homomalla'' contains the bioactive lipid Prostaglandin A2 15-acetate methyl ester at approximately 3% of total wet weight.
