# Giant Plumose Anemone (*metridium farcimen*)

The Giant Plumose Anemone is a beautiful sea creature that looks like a colorful flower underwater! It waves its tentacles in the currents, waiting for tasty food to float by.

- **Category:** [Invertebrate](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/invertebrate)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** They live in the ocean along rocky and sandy shores, often found in tide pools.
- **Also known as:** Giant Anemone, Plumose Anemone, Sea Flower

![Giant Plumose Anemone](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Oc%C3%A9anopolis_-_les_aquariums_008.JPG&width=800)

Photo: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oc%C3%A9anopolis_-_les_aquariums_008.JPG)

## Appearance

The Giant Plumose Anemone is a tall, column-shaped invertebrate with a broad oral disc crowned by a dense, feathery mass of white, cream, or sometimes orange-brown tentacles. It stands out due to its substantial size and ornate, flower-like appearance.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Cnidaria
- **Class:** Anthozoa
- **Order:** Actiniaria
- **Family:** Metridiidae
- **Genus:** Metridium

## Interesting facts

- If cut in half, each piece can grow into a new anemone!
- Some anemones can live to be over 100 years old!
- They can crawl along the seafloor, but super, super slowly!
- They often grow in huge groups, creating an underwater 'flower garden'!

## Special abilities

- **Clone Creation:** Giant Plumose Anemone can reproduce by splitting its foot or oral disc because it allows for asexual reproduction and colony formation.
- **Slow Traveler:** Giant Plumose Anemone can slowly glide across surfaces using its muscular foot because it helps them find better feeding spots.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 15-90 cm
- **Lifespan:** 5-100 years

## Diet & Feeding

It filters tiny food particles and microscopic animals from the surrounding water.

- **Primary Foods:** plankton, detritus, small crustaceans, larval fish
- **Foraging Method:** Filter feeding

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [Leather Star](https://www.snappit.app/explore/leather-star) (*Dermasterias imbricata*) — Leather stars prey on various sea anemones.
- **Eaten by:** California Pleurobranch (*Pleurobranchaea californica*) — This sea slug consumes anemone tissues.
- **Eaten by:** [Sunflower Sea Star](https://www.snappit.app/explore/sunflower-sea-star) (*Pycnopodia helianthoides*) — A large sea star known to eat anemones.

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Filter Feeder](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/filter-feeder): Filter feeders obtain nutrients by straining suspended food particles and small organisms from water.
- [Aquatic](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/aquatic): Aquatic habitats encompass environments where organisms live predominantly in water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
- [Marine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/marine): Marine habitats encompass all saltwater environments of the Earth's oceans, supporting an immense diversity of aquatic life.

## Collections

- [Invertebrates](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/invertebrates)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Always observe marine life from a safe distance.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Giant Plumose Anemone?

Look for fins, arms, tentacles, shells and body symmetry. Underwater light shifts colors, so structure and markings usually matter more than shade. Sea Creature Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Giant Plumose Anemone?

15-90 cm

### How long does Giant Plumose Anemone live?

5-100 years

### What does Giant Plumose Anemone eat?

It filters tiny food particles and microscopic animals from the surrounding water.

### Where is Giant Plumose Anemone usually found?

They live in the ocean along rocky and sandy shores, often found in tide pools.

### How does Giant Plumose Anemone hunt?

Filter feeding

## Where to spot

- [East Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/east-park) — Washington, US · Park

## More Invertebrate

- [Coral](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coral)
- [Crab Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crab-spider) (*Mecaphesa asperata*)
- [Garden Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/garden-spider) (*Araneus diadematus*)
- [Brown Recluse Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-recluse-spider) (*Loxosceles reclusa*)

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Source: [Giant Plumose Anemone: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/giant-plumose-anemone)