ˌvərgyəˈla(a)rēə noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin virgula small rod + New Latin -aria; from the rodlike rachis
: a genus (the type of the family Virgulariidae) of pennatulaceans having a long rodlike rachis enclosing a slender round or square calcareous axis and having polyps that are arranged in transverse rows or clusters on short fleshy transverse processes borne on each side of the rachis for nearly its whole length