from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gorgoniacea \Gor*go`ni*a"ce*a\, n. pl. [NL. See {Gorgonia}.]
(Zool.)
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[oe]nenchyma, in which the polyp
cells are situated.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The axis is commonly horny, but it may be solid and
stony (composed of calcium carbonate), as in the red
coral of commerce, or it may be in alternating horny
and stony joints, as in Isis. See {Alcyonaria},
{Anthozoa}, {C[oe]nenchyma}.
[1913 Webster]