It is a deep sea species with a boreal distribution and is found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, from off the coast of Delaware northward to Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait,[1] and also in the northeast Atlantic Ocean in the Barents Sea.

Gersemia fruticosa was brought to the surface and maintained in the laboratory under flow-through conditions.

Planula larvae were released between April and June, at the time of year when the greatest quantity of phytoplankton was present in the water.

These juveniles were maintained for over a year but no budding took place, which suggests that this species grows very slowly.

It has been possible to demonstrate the biosynthesis in vitro in this coral but not in other species studied, and a novel LO pathway or a new COX-isozyme may be involved.