Eudendrium generale von Lendenfeld, 1885

Colonies up to 40 mm in height, the tallest erect and shrubby, main stems strongly fascicled, smaller colonies up to 20 mm in height, with unfascicled or very lightly-fascicled stems, arising from a tubular hydrorhiza winding over and through the substrate. Unfascicled stems sparsely branched, fascicled stems complexly branched in many planes. Unfascicled stems with 3-8 proximal annulations grading distally into indistinct corrugations, but sometimes smooth.

Hydranths with 24-30 tentacles in a single verticil around a wide, annular hypostome (preserved material), a contraction groove around lower part of most, but not all, hydranths.

Gonophores borne over most of colony, thicker in lower parts, male and female on separate colonies. Male gonophores 2 or 3-chambered, borne in a cluster of up to 20 on a blastostyle from which the tentacles are completely absent at all stages, immature distal chamber often with a terminal knob, lost at maturity. Female gonophores very abundant, most on lower part o f colony, initially 4-5 immature gonophores with an unbranched spadix, borne on body of a fully developed hydranth with hypostome. In later stages, the hydranth may continue to grow ahead of the gonophores, or it may be shed; the blastostyle becomes elongated and corrugated, bearing up to 15 gonophores in various stages of maturity. Mature gonophore oval, on a short pedicel, containing a single egg enclosed in a thick gelatinous pellicle.

Nematocysts, microbasic euryteles of two sizes present:

— Large, capsule 5-8 x 3-4 µm, shaft 5-7 µm, very abundant in tentacles, on body of hydranth and on female.

— Larger microbasic euryteles, capsule bean-shaped, variable in size, 13-15 x 7-9 µm, shaft 12 µm (Western Port material), 21-23 µm, shaft 10-12 µm (Flinders Is. specimens), shaft with a few spines; discharges sideways. Moderately common to rare on body of hydranth and nematocyst ring, when present.

Colour: Overall colour of reproductive colonies orange; stems brown, hydranths pink to orange, tentacles paler pink; male gonophores pearly pink, spadix orange; female gonophores brilliant orange to scarlet.