The Collaborative International Dictionary
glass-rope
Hyalonema \Hy`a*lo*ne"ma\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. "y`alos glass + ? a thread.] (Zo["o]l.) A genus of hexactinelline sponges, having a long stem composed of very long, slender, transparent, siliceous fibres twisted together like the strands of a color. The stem of the Japanese species ( Hyalonema Sieboldii), called glass-rope, has long been in use as an ornament. See Glass-rope.
Wiktionary
glass-rope
n. A vitreous sponge of the genus (taxlink Hyalonema genus), with a long stem, consisting of a bundle of long glassy siliceous fibres twisted together.