Piranha Plant

A Piranha Plant (パックン フラワー, Pakkun Furawā, Pakkun Flower) is a Venus fly trap-like enemy in the Super Mario video games. Piranha Plants are almost always portrayed as a leafy green stalk topped with a white-spotted green or red globe, almost bisected by a toothy white mouth. Like Super Mushrooms, their coloring resembles that of the hallucinogenic Amanita muscaria and they are one of the most instantly recognizable Mario-related creatures, appearing in almost every Mario game. They are also the precursor to "ambush" enemies.

Piranha Plants typically hide within pipes, periodically emerging and ensnaring unwary passersby. There are two varieties of normal Piranha Plants: green and red. Often they have big white lips around enormous, toothed maws. Green Piranha Plants don't attack people that are touching their pipes, but the faster-moving Red Piranha Plants (which originated in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) will emerge even if someone is standing next to or on the very edge of their pipes. Pipes infested with such plants are usually vertical, but horizontally dwelling Piranha Plants are not unknown, and some even hang from the ceiling. They are most dangerous when their pipes are the only platforms across a ravine. Some species can also spit fireballs (such as the Venus Fire Trap in Super Mario Bros. 3), or even jump all the way out of their pipes (the Jumpin' Piranha Plant from Super Mario World). Others live entirely outside pipes, being either rooted in the ground or even walking about on rootlike legs. Although they are immune to jump attacks, Piranha Plants are vulnerable to projectiles, such as fireballs, Troopa shells, and hammers.