Gorgonia is a type of red coral. Although they are actually animals, in local stories they are described as petrified plants. Perhaps because their appearance resembles the spreading branches of a tree, or perhaps even more so because their appearance resembles the hair of a mythical creature from Greek mythology, Medusa (one of the three sisters from the gorgonian family), who had snakes on her head instead of hair, and anyone who looked at her would turn to stone.