Description: A small clonal anemone with a smooth column up to 15mm in height and diameter. The disc is wide, the tentacles have rounded knobs at their tips, up to 100 in number. the colour is often brilliant green, red, pink, orange, white or brown, in various combinations, usually the tentacle knobs contrast with the colour of the column. Reproduces by longitudinal fission, ie. dividing in half vertically. Sometimes the resulting anemones do not separate completely.

Habitat: Lives on rocks, occurring in shaded places low on the shore, or sublittorally down to about 50m, always in strong wave action or tidal streams. Usually occurs in large aggregations consisting of patches of similarly coloured clones.

Distribution: Frequent on south and west coasts as far north as northern Scotland; also occurs around southwest Europe and in the Mediterranean.

Similar Species: The cup-corals Caryophyllia smithii and Caryophyllia inornata also have knobbed tentacles of similar appearance, but they possess hard calcareous skeletons.

Key Identification Features:

• Knobbed tentacles.
• Fairly small size and variable colouration.
• Common occurrence in large aggregations.

Distribution Map from NBN: Corynactis viridis at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Corynactis viridis at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Corynactis viridis at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Corynactis viridis Allman, 1846. AphiaID: 101016.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Cnidaria; Anthozoa; Hexacorallia; Corallimorpharia; Corallimorphidae; Corynactis