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Some clovers, one of the many plants in PNF-404.

PNF-404 is covered in all sorts of vegetation in addition to its animal wildlife. This includes an assortment of plants and fungi. Gameplay-wise, these can either be static background or area geometry elements, or they can be game objects that react to the world around them. For the most part, plants and fungi serve only an aesthetic purpose, but in some instances, they can directly contribute to the gameplay. With the Piklopedia in Pikmin 2, some plants and fungi were given a bit of importance inside the game itself, but because the explorers are not specialists in plant and fungus lifeforms familiar to humans, they mistakingly categorize things like LED lights as plants. In addition, Captain Olimar refers to Pikmin as being "both plant and animal"[1].

Vegetation as game objects

As stated above, some forms of vegetation are game objects, much like the leaders or the Pikmin. They are dotted about the terrain, and most of them have minimal impact on the gameplay, serving only for decoration; at most, they gently sway when brushed against. However, while some plants and fungi may be decorative in and of themselves, upon touching them they may release some helpful enemies hiding within, like Unmarked Spectralids, Honeywisps or Iridescent Flint Beetles. Others can also act as hiding spots from predators. Finally, there is a small handful of plant and fungus objects that have an important role as a gameplay mechanic.

Piklopedia

Main article: Piklopedia.

The Piklopedia is an in-game feature in Pikmin 2. When the leaders interact with enemies and vegetation, a record about the entity is created on the Piklopedia. In order for the player to complete the Piklopedia, they must touch at least one specimen of every recognizable plant and fungus in the game.

Gameplay mechanics

Some forms of vegetation in PNF-404 are actually helpful to the leaders and their Pikmin, and serve as important gameplay mechanics – some must even be interacted with so that the game may be completed.

Pellet Posies have a single pellet on top of their stem. When the plant is taken down, it releases the pellet inside, which can be brought to an Onion. This provides a safe way of increase Pikmin population without having to interact with enemies or their corpses.

Burgeoning Spiderworts contain berries that, when delivered to the Hocotate ship, can be used to brew sprays. These plants can generate several berries throughout the day, making them a good origin of sprays; they do, however, need some upkeep in order to remain a healthy and reliable source.

Candypop Buds are plants that can take in Pikmin and convert them to one of a different type. White and Purple Pikmin can only be obtained via these plants.

Nectar weed are strands of grass that, when pulled out, have a chance of releasing a drop of nectar. Pikmin can be told to weed out these blades of grass in order to obtain the nectar within.

Common Glowcaps in Pikmin 3 light up the area around them. This provides both lighting and protection from Phosbats.

Bloominous Stemples open up when lit, and serve as bridges to cross gaps.

Bouncy Mushrooms throw any Pikmin or leaders to a specific spot nearby.

Lily pads float on the surface of rivers, and allow leaders and Pikmin to ride them to new sections of the area.

Treasures as vegetation

The leaf texture used in Pikmin 2's Challenge Mode menu. (Used on Pikipedia in the {{stub}} template.)

This article is a stub. You can help Pikipedia by expanding it.
Suggestions: This list is incomplete.

In Pikmin 2, the leaders attribute a high value to some otherwise mundane plants and fungi. These forms of vegetation have been upgraded from mere decorative objects to important treasures that the player must collect in order to complete the game. The following is a list of objects that do not act as regular in-game plants and fungi, but are instead treasures:

Enemies as vegetation

Some enemies in the Pikmin world take advantage of the unassuming characteristics of flora and fungi in order to disguise themselves as common vegetation. This can be either a defensive or offensive mechanism, in that the disguise could serve as a way to hide from predators, or as a means for an ambush. In addition, some enemies also seem to be part plant or part fungus, much like the Pikmin are part plant themselves. A list of enemies with these plant and fungus connections is as follows:

Vegetation as terrain

The terrain in PNF-404 consists of all sorts of surfaces. Given the series' highlights of nature, a large part of the terrain Pikmin and leaders walk on is made up of flora or fungi. This can range from grass to tree trunks. These different terrains count simply for decoration, as they have no impact on the gameplay, other than providing different footstep sounds when leaders walk on top of them.

Vegetation as background

In order to give the areas some physical context, the out-of-bounds sections of the terrain are filled with plants and fungi. At times, it is even in much larger amounts than what can be found in the area's in-bound terrain; the reason for this is to stop the gameplay section of the area to be too cluttered. The outside of maps can consist of normal vegetation gameplay objects, dedicated models (e.g. trees, leaves, or unique flowers), or, in the case of the first two games, a wall with a texture of assorted vegetation, like mossy stones or trees.

List of identified vegetation

The following is a list of identified plants and fungi in the Pikmin games. This list refers only to vegetation that is given an actual name or recognition inside the games or other canonical content. Only Pikmin 2 actually names most of these, with the Piklopedia. You may also browse the categories available on Pikipedia, with the top one being Vegetation.

Pikmin


See also: [[::Category:Pikmin 1 vegetation|Pikmin vegetation category]].

Pikmin 2


See also: [[::Category:Pikmin 2 vegetation|Pikmin 2 vegetation category]].

Pikmin 3


See also: [[::Category:Pikmin 3 vegetation|Pikmin 3 vegetation category]].

Pikmin Adventure

Plants and fungi in Pikmin Adventure are once again decorative and hardly interactive, but there are Nintendo Land Plaza statues for each of them. These are unlocked using Nintendo Land Coins.

See: Pikmin Adventure plants

List of unidentified vegetation

The leaf texture used in Pikmin 2's Challenge Mode menu. (Used on Pikipedia in the {{stub}} template.)

This article is a stub. You can help Pikipedia by expanding it.

There are forms of vegetation that are not given a name or any sort of importance inside the games themselves. However, their species can still be known by examining how they look and act, compared to plants and fungi in the real world. Some vegetation, however, cannot be identified at all, either because they do not resemble any real world plant, or because the resemblances are too weak to reach conclusive proof. The names given on this list are the real world names.

Forget-me-not

Forget-me-nots only appear in Pikmin 3 in the Beastly Caverns stage of Mission Mode and the Shaded Terrace stage of Bingo Battle. They are popular garden flowers, only acting as decoration to the garden themes of these two areas.

Peltate leaves

Several large flat leaves appear in the background of the Perplexing Pool, serving no other purpose than decoration. The leaves' stems connect at the bottom, characteristic mainly to tropical plants. Its species name would probably be peltata.

Red mushroom/leaves

This article or section needs to be cleaned up, either its format or general style.
Notes: Are they the same thing then or not?

There is an unknown red object that appears in all Pikmin games. It is either a red-leafed plant or a red mushroom. It is quite common in Pikmin, appearing in every area. In Pikmin 2, this same red-leafed plant only appears in the Valley of Repose near the landing area, covered in snow. In Pikmin 3 the plant becomes a trio of mushrooms found only in the Tropical Wilds; they make a unique sound when disturbed. This new mushroom's look could be based on mycena haematopus.

Shasta daisy

The shasta daisies only appear in Pikmin 3. They only act as decoration, though a White Spectralid will normally land on a group near the landing site in the Garden of Hope.

Spiked grass

Spiked grass only appears in grouped tufts in Pikmin, as decoration for The Forest Navel's landing site.

Sprout

Ambiguous two-leafed sprouts appear in patches in Pikmin 3, acting as hiding spots. The Distant Tundra also features patches of brown dried sprouts.

Succulents

The Formidable Oak in Pikmin 3 features numerous different variants of cacti and succulent plants. These include haworthia attenuata, stout barrel cacti, aeonium succulents, and large columnar cacti in the distance. The Formidable Oak also houses some more ambiguous but unique flora, including inflorescences of pink wildflowers, sprouts and tufts of dry grasses, and even some tiny lichens in the center of the arena area. Most of these succulents and some of the flower types are also used in the Thirsty Desert and its remix in Mission Mode.

Trees

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Nearly every area of every game (excluding The Forest Navel) contains trees, though most of the time they go unnoticed. Their main effect on gameplay is providing dynamic shadows that make the look of the environment more realistic and interesting. Trees can be seen in most of the backgrounds of the first two games' areas, but the textures depicting them are simple and looped, and often obscured by distance fog. In Pikmin 3, the entire skybox is rendered, and one can see full trees surrounding the area using the KopPad's camera.

Vines

An ivy-like vine appears in the Tropical Forest in Pikmin 3, creeping along the edge of a raised platform and wall until twirling into a curled slide. Leaders and Pikmin can slide down this vine to get from the raised platform to the lower ground quickly, but not vice versa. Several vines are also used for scenery.

Weeds

A prototype of Pikmin 3 contained an unused patch of weed-like plants.

Yellow wood sorrel

Yellow wood sorrels only appear in Pikmin 3. They only act as decoration, though one patch near the landing site in the Garden of Hope hides an Iridescent Flint Beetle.

See also

References

  1. ^ ""What exactly are these Pikmin? One could classify them as both plant and animal." – Captain Olimar in his voyage log.

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