Acropora pulchra

The stony skeleton of Acropora pulchra takes on various forms. It is a branching species, sometimes being tree-like and forming thickets and in other locations forming tangled colonies with level upper surfaces. The branches are up to 12 mm (0.5 in) in diameter and up to 18 cm (7 in) long. Often the whole colony spreads horizontally and is no more than 5 cm (2 in) thick. The growth habit largely depends on where the coral is growing in relation to the tide levels. The polyps protrude from little cup-shaped depressions called corallites which are widely spaced on the branches and which have elongated lower lips. The colour of this coral varies from blue to various shades of brown, often with pale blue tips to the branches.

Acropora pulchra is found in the western Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the Gulf of Aden to Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and Australia. It chiefly grows at depths which range from 1 to 20 metres (3 ft 3 in to 65 ft 7 in) on back reef fringes and flats and in reef lagoons, often growing among the closely related coral species Acropora aspera.