Caulerpa

noun

Cau·​ler·​pa

kȯˈlərpə

: a genus (coextensive with the family Caulerpaceae) of green algae of the order Siphonales occurring on tropical sea bottoms, having a thallus composed of a single coenocyte differentiated into a long creeping stemlike portion that forms rhizoids below and variously shaped foliose expansions above, and reproducing asexually by detached vegetative shoots

caulerpaceous

¦kȯ(ˌ)lər¦pāshəs

adjective

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from caul- + -erpa (from Greek herpein to creep)

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