Gersemia is a genus of soft corals in the family Alcyoniidae. Species in this genus are found in cold temperate and polar seas at depths ranging from to over . The type species is Gersemia loricata.
Characteristics Colonies of Gersemia are arborescent, growing erectly with one main stem. The polyps are most numerous at the branch tips and are unable to retract into the calyces. The walls of the stalk and branches are stiffened with sclerites which are often brightly coloured. Corals in this genus do not contain zooxanthellae, the microalgae symbionts found in some other corals.The nephtheid soft coral genus Gersemia Marenzeller, 1878, with the description of a new species from the northeast Pacific and a review of two additional species (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea)
Species The World Register of Marine Species includes the following species in the genus:
Gersemia antarctica (Kükenthal, 1902) Gersemia carnea Verrill Gersemia clavata (Danielssen, 1887) Gersemia crassa (Danielssen, 1887) Gersemia danielsseni (Studer, 1891) Gersemia fruticosa Sars, 1860 Gersemia hicksoni (Gravier, 1913) Gersemia japonica (Kükenthal, 1906) Gersemia juliepackardae Williams & Lundsten, 2009 Gersemia lambi Williams, 2013 Gersemia liltvedi (Verseveldt & Williams, 1988) Gersemia loricata von Marenzeller, 1878 Gersemia marenzelleri Kükenthal, 1906 Gersemia mirabilis (Danielssen, 1887) Gersemia rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834) Gersemia studeri Verrill Gersemia uvaeformis (May, 1900)
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