\Gor*go`ni*a"ce*a\, n. pl. [NL. See {Gorgonia}.]
(Zo["o]l.)
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.

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}.