Briareum asbestinum is an encrusting octocoral (family Briareidae, order Alcyonacea) common in shallow Caribbean reef and rubble habitats, forming thick purple-brown encrusting sheets with densely packed retractile polyps that can overgrow adjacent corals and hard substrates. The species produces briarane-type diterpenes with potential anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties studied in marine natural products chemistry. Genomic data have been generated for this species and are available in public databases, enabling comparative studies of cnidarian evolution and ecology.