The genus of precious corals including the red, pink, and gold corals valued for jewelry; also the axial skeleton of coral colonies.
From Latin 'corallium,' the original Latin name for coral. The genus Corallium was formally established in scientific nomenclature to describe precious corals distinct from reef-building corals. The word likely has Semitic origins, entering Greek as 'korallion' and then Latin.
Precious coral (Corallium species) has been coveted for 3,000+ years—Mediterranean civilizations traded red coral like currency, and a single large branch could buy land or livestock, making this slow-growing animal skeleton worth more per ounce than gold in ancient times.
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