Cabbage leather coral

Biology

This coral forms small, slow-growing colonies that have stalks with tree-like branches. With time, they can grow so densely that their prominent "leaves" will often overlap. They have retractable polyps, visible only during feeding time.

Conservation

Coral reefs around the world are in danger. The major threat to corals is global climate change, high temperatures and ocean acidification. Localized threats to corals include fisheries, invasive species, dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities.

Curiosities

These corals often form massive new accretions several meters across within existing colonies of over 100 years old.