Soft corals and their relatives, known as acyonarians,
 are abundant on indo-Pacific coral reefs. 
They are found in all reef habitats,
 but their most impressive growth forms are seen mostly at depths between 10—30 m (33-100 Ft),
where in some places they form extensive growths,
 like gardens of undersea wildflowers.
 The gorgeous, rainbow hued species of Dendronephthya are the most abundant
and widespread.
 When fully expanded,
 colonies look like fluffy cotton candy,
 exhibiting dazzling shades of pink,
red, purple, and yellow.
 The bushy or tree-like growth forms are densely branched,
 and colonies have a prickly
appearance due to the sharp supporting bundles of calcareous particles on each polyp.
 Species identification is
difficult even for trained specialists,
 and a thorough study of the group is badly needed.
 At least 250 species of Dendronephthya have been described,
 but many of these may
represent multiple color variations of the same animal.
 The genus ranges throughout the western indo-Pacific.