Plantera

"The jungle grows restless..."

Plantera is a Hardmode Boss that can be fought after all three Mechanical Bosses (The Destroyer, Skeletron Prime, and The Twins) have been defeated.

Summoning
After all three Mechanical Bosses have been defeated (only one required in the Console version), one or more Plantera's Bulbs will appear somewhere in the Underground Jungle. Destroying one of these bulbs requires a Pickaxe or a Drill, and upon doing so, Plantera will spawn immediately at that location.

Attacks
Plantera moves through blocks. It uses long vines to grapple foreground blocks, which cause damage on contact.

First stage
Plantera creeps after the player, firing pink Seeds and eventually green Poison Seeds. These fire more rapidly as Plantera takes more damage. Plantera also begins to spit large, bouncing thorn balls after taking a certain amount of damage.

Second stage
Once Plantera is brought down to half its original health, it changes to its second form, with its pink bud falling away to reveal a thorn-filled mouth. In this form, Plantera moves quicker, and primarily attempts to make physical contact rather than fire ranged attacks.

Additionally:
 * It sprouts mouths that are attached via additional vines (called "Plantera's Tentacles").
 * It begins releasing floating pink spore projectiles that drift toward the player, similar to the spores released by the Giant Fungi Bulb.

Enraged behavior
Plantera only becomes "enraged" if it follows the player out of the Underground Jungle, to the surface, for instance. This causes it to gain significantly more damage and movement speed, and will attempt to remain directly on top of the player, causing constant damage.

Attack types

 * [[File:Plantera Seed.png]] [[File:Poison Seed.png]] Seeds (first stage): Similar to the stingers of the Hornets. They do not travel through blocks. The green Poison Seeds are more deadly than the more frequently fired pink Seeds.
 * Thorn Ball.png Thorn Balls: Thorn balls are similar to the Spiky Ball weapon. These bounce around erratically through the Jungle and can overwhelm the player if they stay in the same area for too long, as well as deal large amounts of damage on contact. Also they appear to be the new saving icon for the Console version replacing the Thorn Chakram.
 * Plantera's Hook.png Hooks: The ends of Plantera's tentacles, which cling to surfaces and deal damage on contact.
 * Plantera's Tentacle.png Plantera's Tentacles (second stage): Gnawing minions on "leashes", akin to smaller versions of The Hungry. They get in the way of the player's attacks, making piercing weapons more valuable. Relatively weak and easily killed with proper equipment.
 * [[File:Spore.png]] Spores (second stage): Similar to the Fungi Spores fired by the Giant Fungi Bulb. Travels through blocks. Easily destroyed, but deal 70 damage if touched.

Aftermath
When Plantera is defeated for the first time, it will always drop a Grenade Launcher with Rocket I's for ammo, as well as the Temple Key. A Temple Key drops each time Plantera is defeated thereafter.

The Temple Key allows access to the Lihzahrd Temple and Golem Boss, who drops Beetle Husk for crafting Beetle armor. In addition, the Temple Key can be combined with Biome Key Molds to craft keys for access to Biome Chests.

The Cyborg NPC becomes available, and the Truffle begins selling the Autohammer, used to craft Shroomite Bars for Shroomite armor and other endgame items. The Traveling Merchant will begin selling the Pulse Bow.

A message saying "Screams are echoing from the dungeon" will appear, as new, more difficult enemy types will begin to spawn in the Dungeon, which drop new weapons, accessories, and other useful items. Dungeon Spirits will begin to appear when enemies with more than 100 health are slain in the dungeon, which drop Ectoplasm, a new crafting material that offers access to the Pumpkin Moon and Frost Moon events, as well as the Spectre armor and tool sets.

Hardmode Crimson, Corruption, and Hallow spread will be slowed down to 33% of their speed.

Tips

 * Excavate a sizable area to allow easier dodging before summoning Plantera.
 * Using a Gravitation Potion can help you avoid any further damage from spiky balls laying on the ground, as the spiky balls obey gravity and fall to the floor.
 * Plantera's Bulb can spawn in player-made Jungle Biomes, which can provide a slightly easier way to fight Plantera.
 * A somewhat exploitative strategy is to line up 2 teleporters ~50 blocks away from each other in two small separate rooms with a tiny hole. When Plantera is summoned, fire at it using a Megashark or Clockwork Assault Rifle. When it gets too close, teleport to the other room.
 * Narrow Passages slow Plantera as it takes more time for it to grip the surrounding terrain. Use of the Death Sickle in the narrow passages will result in up to 3,000 max damage in a 30-40 tile tunnel.
 * The Golden Shower, Ichor Bullets or Ichor Arrows may be useful as the debuff they inflict lowers Plantera's defense. The Bunny Cannon is a gimmicky but high-damaging weapon that can also be used.
 * In multiplayer, building a house with a bed near Plantera's Bulb and having all players set their spawn there will guarantee a Plantera kill unless Plantera manages to kill all players at once.
 * A player will need to defeat Plantera 5 times to gain access to the Lihzahrd Temple and craft all the Biome Keys needed to unlock that world's Biome Chests (Hallowed, Jungle, Frozen, and Crimson/Corruption).

Trivia

 * The name "Plantera" is a play on the title of American metal band Pantera, which is Cenx's favorite band. Plantera drops "The Axe", which looks similar to the Washburn and Dean electric guitars often used by late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell. Plantera's music also features electric guitars.
 * Several plant/monster characters from popular culture may have influenced Plantera's design, such as Audrey 2, the antagonist in Little Shop of Horrors; Kalle Demos from The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker; or Biollante from Godzilla.
 * In Swedish, the word plantera means "to plant".
 * As of the console 1.2 update, the saving icon is one of the spiked ball that Plantera fires. Prior to that, the Thorn Chakram was used as icon to save.