Gōr-gō'ni-a, n.

n. [Lat., a coral which hardens in the air.] (Zoöl.) A family of flexible coral-zoophytes, growing in the form of shrubs, twigs, and reticulate fronds, and including the sea-fan of the West Indies. The branches consist of a horny axis, surrounded by a semicalcareous crust. The polyps, aggregated together, constitute the crust, and by secretions from their bases, which are directed inward, they form the axis. The species are often bright-colored. Dana.