MCS: Lancashire area group

Right: Photograph of the soft coral Alcyonium glomeratum (Hassall) by Gordon Fletcher.

Closely related to Alcyonium digitatum (Dead men's fingers), glomeratum is less robust, and the polyps are white, providing a contrast in colour with the body of the colony, which can vary between pale orange and red. When disturbed the polyps retract, leaving the orange spongy body.