kȯˈlərpə noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from caul- + -erpa (from Greek herpein to creep) — more at serpent
: 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
• cau·ler·pa·ceous |kȯ(ˌ)lər|pāshəs adjective