DiscoverSpeciesCorals and anemones
Broccoli Coral
Litophyton arboreum
- Usual depth1.8 m
- Water temperature25–25 °C
- Best monthsOctober and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Alexander Vasenin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Litophyton arboreum, also known as broccoli coral, is a common soft coral (octocoral) found from the Red Sea to the Western Pacific. It grows up to 80 cm, usually on seaward reef slopes or hard bottoms. The color of L. arboreum varies from pale olive-green to yellow or grey. L. arboreum are anthozoans in the order Alcyonacea in the family Nephtheidae. The L. arboreum was originally classified in 1775 by Peter Forsskål, a Swedish Linnaean naturalist. As of 2016, the entire genus Litophyton was reclassified using phylogenetic data, in contrast to its original morphological classification.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Litophyton arboreum”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 3 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 2 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 7 records
- November: 6 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1.8 m · Deepest record: 1.8 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–25 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) ajott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Grete Pasch, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Christian Berg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Grete Pasch, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Broccoli Coral
Names in 2 more languages
- German
- Broccoli-Bäumchen
- French
- Alcyonaire arborescent
Other scientific names: Ammothea arborea, Ammothea virescens, Lithophytum arboreum, Nephthea laevis, Nephthya virescens
Similar species
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 267 open-data records from 1965 to 1965.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.