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 adjective
¦kȯ(ˌ)lər¦pāshəs
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from caul- + -erpa (from Greek herpein to creep)