Blue & Green Sympodium
A variant of Sympodium (Blue Clove Polyps) (Sympodium sp.)
Representative Sympodium (Blue Clove Polyps)photo — a dedicated image of this exact morph isn't available yet.
A bicolor form where each polyp has a deep blue center that bleeds out into bright green, jade-toned pinnules, contrasting against the blue encrusting mat. Widely considered one of the most desirable soft-coral color combinations in the hobby.
📜 Backstory
A wild-collected Indo-Pacific color form rather than a named designer morph. It was once hard to find but has been propagated for years by Tidal Gardens and is now carried widely — for example by TopShelf Aquatics ('Blue Green Sympodium'), SaltCritters, Marine Farmers, Discount Coral, and reefs.com. Lineage is not attributed to any single person, and most stock today is captive-grown from the original imports. Taxonomically, a 2014 CORAL Magazine article identifies this blue-green 'Sympodium' as properly *Alcyonium verseveldti* (originally described as *Metalcyonium verseveldti*), though the 'Sympodium' trade name has stuck in the US market.
Keeper tips for this variant
Give it medium to high light and moderate flow on rockwork. The green pinnules color up best with steady, moderate-to-high PAR — too little light and it can brown out. It is hardy and adaptive, so it forgives a range of conditions; supplement iodine and trace elements for best color, and give it space since it encrusts and spreads.