Plantera

 is a Hard Mode boss fought within the Underground Jungle biome. To summon Plantera, the player must defeat all three Mechanical Bosses (The Twins, The Destroyer, or Skeletron Prime). After doing so, the player must destroy a pink plant bulb found in the Jungle, known as Plantera's Bulb. There is no limit to the number of bulbs in a world; after all of them have been destroyed, more will spawn.

1st Stage
Main body is that of a pink flower bulb, much like the summoning bulb. It uses 3 vines to grab onto solid terrain to move itself, which can also deal damage. It shoots sharp leaves that do relatively little damage, which fire faster as its HP drops. There is also an intermediate stage at around a quarter of its HP lost, where it starts shooting pink spiked balls that bounce off walls, making it almost suicidal to fight in tight spaces. The fire rate of the spiked balls also gets faster as it approaches the last stage.

2nd Stage
Plantera loses its petals to reveal a carnivorous plant-like body, and a multitude of Vines (besides the 3 used for movement) which behave similarly to the Wall of Flesh's The Hungry. It stops shooting projectiles at this stage and increases in speed and decreases in defense.

Screams are echoing from the dungeon...
 * Upon defeating Plantera for the first time in a world, It will say in chat:

General
As of 1.2.1.2, it is no longer advisable to fight Plantera on the surface or outside of the Underground Jungle, since it enrages and deals far more damage than usual. When enraged, Plantera is capable of killing the player instantly when hit, even with projectiles. It may be possible to defeat it using a surface technique, or similarly kiting it to a different biome (such as the Underworld), however top tier equipment and weapons would be required. It can be worth noting that it is going to help to excavate a big area before fighting Plantera.

Take care to ensure the location you engage Plantera isn't at the edge of the underground jungle or above a depth of 0 (use a Depth Meter or GPS to check). Both of these things can trigger an unexpected enraged boss, significantly lowering any chance of survival regardless of strategy. One way to kill it in an open area is to fight it in the Lihzahrd Temple. First you destroy all of the traps and spikes then you summon plantera.

Arena Method
This method is executed by simply excavating a large area in which you can fight Plantera. This method will work well with most gear loadouts and can be a simple yet effective way of defeating Plantera. By digging out a large circular space (the Underground Jungle has a multitiude of similar spaces that only require a little cleaning up) and placing rows of platforms across its diameter, it becomes possible to apply different boss strategies such as kiting. It is recommended to acquire the best gear possible for this, use buff potions and place health regeneration items such as a Campfires and Heart Lanterns down around the arena.

This method is recommended if you do not have access to poweful equipment (such as gear that requires you to defeat Plantera) yet and need a reasonably easy way of challenging this boss with a good chance to win.

Tank Method
For endgame-geared players, equipping full Turtle Armor, having Warding on all accessories for extra defense, and throwing Godly Vampire Knives repeatedly while standing in one location is generally the easiest way to conquer Plantera. The use of a Cross Necklace or Star Veil can help significantly with this. When done properly, the player shouldn't ever be more than 50 health below max, but it can be beneficial to place a spawn point near the location of the fight to ensure that Plantera will not despawn should the player die if something goes wrong.

Hellevator Method
For this method, a vertical shaft (see Hellevator ) at least 2 blocks wide will be dug from the top of the Underground Jungle down to where lava pools begin to appear. Make sure  neither end is outside the biome. This doesn't take too long as mud mines up fairly quickly and the biome usually contains many open areas to which excess water can drain. The ideal location for this shaft would be in the center of the Jungle so that it can be quickly reached from anywhere a Plantera's Bulb is found. It could also be placed between two major Jungle cave systems in which the Bulb might spawn.

Items necessary for this method are Wings or other flight & slow-fall item and a Grappling Hook or similar item. Weapons used for this method are the the best damage ranged weapons or spells available to the player. The Hallowed Repeater paired with Chlorophyte Arrows is sufficient. High Armor ratings, the Cross Necklace, and the Philosopher's Stone are of course beneficial.

To begin the battle, destroy a Plantera's Bulb and kite the boss to the Hellevator, taking care not to get too far away causing it to despawn. Then fall/fly slowly down the shaft while Plantera chases the player, constantly shooting it with ranged weapons or spells. If it begins to get too far away, attach to the wall with the grappling device until it catches up, then resume slow-falling, shooting all the while. When the bottom is reached, simply fly back up through the shaft and attach to the wall to shoot Plantera as it catches up. When the top is reached, fall/fly back down and continue as before. Plantera doesn't follow the player in straight lines, so many of its attacks will miss since they do not pass through the walls.

This method works very well for Plantera's second form if it is dealing too much damage for the player to keep up healing while using the Tank method without Vampire Knives.

Teleporter Tunnel Method
An easy but expensive way to beat Plantera is by digging a long horizontal tunnel in the jungle, and attaching two Teleporters on both sides. Then, using a Megashark with Crystal Bullets, shoot it while it approaches and teleport to the other side when it gets too close. Repeat the process until it dies. Hallowed Armor or better should be used since this method does not guarantee complete safety. Also any extra damage items will speed up the process. Otherwise, nothing else is needed for this method. Other viable weapons for this method would be the Golden Shower or Ichor Bullets paired with a Megashark or better.

Spawn Point Method
If one is very patient one can build a house in a jungle, place a bed in it, set the spawn there, then lead Plantera to the house since it does not run away when the player dies. It will keep spawn killing the player, however one can keep hurting Plantera until it is defeated, but since it is attacking the spawn it will take some time.

Spiky Ball Trap Method
After killing Plantera and accessing the temple for the first time, a Spiky Ball Trap is easy to set up, and results in a high damage quick method that costs no money (assuming the trap materials are collected at the end). As spiky ball traps work on a 3 second delay, a 3 second timer can be used in order to output the most balls without needing any active input from the player.

Nimbus Cloud Method
To kill Plantera with this method, all you need to do is set your spawn point at the Underground Jungle, then look for Plantera`s Bulb and destroy it once you find it. Afterwards, go to your spawn in the Underground Jungle and set down a nimbus cloud using a Nimbus Rod over the bed you used to set your spawn. Plantera will take damage from the nimbus cloud every time it tries to kill you, and you will die: but Plantera will not despawn. Note that the nimbus cloud can disappear, so it is recommended that you re-make another Nimbus Cloud if the previous one has disappeared.

Trivia

 * It has been stated that Plantera's name is a reference to the band Pantera.
 * Redigit stated on Twitter that Plantera's theme is the "most epic thing in game".
 * In Swedish, the term "Plantera" means "Planting", which refers as in planting a plant.
 * Seems to resemble the plant from the classic movie Little Shop of Horrors.
 * If one considers the music played during the Plantera fight, it may be considered mechanical, as it also has a chance to drop mechanical-related items such as rockets and the grenade launcher. This is further justified by the fact that defeating Plantera will attract the Cyborg NPC.
 * The more obvious thought one would have is that Plantera is of organic origin, as it is summoned by destroying a plant bulb, looks organic and simply has the music and drops that might associate it with an artificial origin instead.

Bugs

 * Nimbus Cloud will prevent Vampire Knives from healing off of damage dealt to Plantera. (Tested multiple times while using the Turtle Armor and Vampire Knives strategy).Plantera_bulb_near_surface.png
 * Plantera's Bulb may spawn very near the edge between Jungle and Underground Jungle, causing Plantera to enrage immediately when the bulb is broken, making it harder to kill.
 * Sometimes Plantera can spawn enraged, even in the underground jungle, leading inexperienced players to believe this is the default mode of Plantera.
 * Plantera won't disappear when the player dies if their spawnpoint is nearby.
 * Plantera may disappear randomly during the boss fight. Plantera may also disappear if the player moves too far away from it.