Gorgonians can take many shapes and often confuse novices into thinking that they are plants rather than animals.  In contrast to the stony corals, these animals do not have a solid skeleton but rather have small pieces of the same mineral (limestone) scattered throughout their tissue (called spicules).  These take various shapes and are actually used to identify the species of gorgonian.  They are often tall and wave about with the currents adding a beautiful dimension to the underwater world.  Their colors are often blue (like Pseudoplexaura porosa: sorry but gorgonians frequently don't have common names) or the same tan color as many corals.  The polyps are frequently open during the day; this gives them a bushy look as you can see in this shot of Plexaura flexuosa.