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Named after a terrestrial flower, the anemone, the sea anemone is a group of ocean-dwelling, filter feeding animals of the order Actinaria. As a cnidarian, it is closely related to coral and jellyfish. The anemone is a (usually) solitary polyp with stinging cells ( cnidocytes) in its tentacles. These stinging cells serve to paralyze and capture prey, which is then moved by the tentacles to the mouth for digestion inside a central cavity.

Other close relations to the sea anemone are the solitary, tube-dwelling anemone s and the hydras.

The sea anemone has a foot which attaches itself to rocks or anchors in the sand. Some sea anemones form symbiotic relationships with crabs and anemone fish, also known as clownfishTwenty-seven, including: Amphiprion allardi Allard's Clownfish Amphiprion melanopus Cinnamon Clownfish Amphiprion clarkii Clark's Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris Ocellaris Clownfish Amphiprion percula Percula Clownfish Amphiprion perideraion Pink Skunk C. In the former situation, anemones will either attach or be attached to the shell of a hermit crabHermit crabs are crustaceans of the group Paguroidea closely related to true crabs of the group Brachyura. Most hermit crabs salvage empty seashells to shelter and protect their soft abdomens. There are about five hundred known species of hermit crabs in (by the crab's own volition), providing additional protection for the crab and allowing the anemone to eat scraps when the crab feeds. A similar relationship can be formed between a sea anemone and a clownfish. The clownfish presses itself into the anemone, living comfortably within the stinging tentacles: This is possible because of a protective slime that covers the clownfish. The clownfish benefits from this symbiotic relationship because it is protected by the anemone and also gets food scraps from it.

Although not plantGreen algae land plants (embryophytes non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta liverworts Anthocerophyta hornworts Bryophyta mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta clubmosses Equisetophyta horsetails Pteridophyta "true"s and therefore incapable of photosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a biochemical process in which plants, green algae, and some bacteria use the energy of light to combine water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy. It nourishes nearly all living things directly or indirectly, making it vital to li themselves, sea anemones form an important symbiosis with certain single-celledstained for keratin The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms. Some organisms, such as bacteria, are unicellular, consisting of a single cell. Other organisms, such as humans, are multicellular, (humans have an estimated 100,0 green algae species which reside in the animals' gastrodermal cells. These algae may be either zooxanthellae, zoochlorellae or both. The sea anemone benefits from the products of the algae's photosynthesis, namely oxygenOxygen is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol O and atomic number 8. The element is very common, found not only on Earth but throughout the universe. Molecular oxygen (O, often called free oxygen on Earth is thermodynamically un and food in the form of glycerol, glucose and alanine; the algae in turn are assured a reliable exposure to sunlight, which the anemones actively maintain.

Common Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) in their Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home