Parsnip

Parsnip is a premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2, tied with the Food Fight! 2016 event. It attacks zombies in front from a short range. Once Parsnip is almost eaten, it will rush down the lane in a similar fashion to Guacodile. It deals four normal damage shots every two seconds. It can also push zombies back and create two little Parsnips when fed Plant Food.

Origins
Parsnip is based on the Pastinaca sativa, a root plant closely related to the carrot better known as parsnip, and possibly a fiddler crab. Its name is a pun on "parsnip," "snip" (to cut something with scissors or shears in short strokes), and possibly "nip."

Plant Food effect
When fed Plant Food, Parsnip will knock back every zombie in front of it. Then, Parsnip will create two smaller versions of itself that will rush down its lane. This is similar to what the Guacodile does for its Plant Food effect.

Costumed
When costumed, its Plant Food effect now creates a final smaller version of itself, which has a chance to stun zombies.

Strategies
Parsnip is a great plant to use early in a level. Its high single target damage, combined with its ability to function as a temporary wall, make it a powerful asset. Compared to Guacodile, Parsnip has less range on its attacks and has a weaker rush attack, but Parsnip can function as a temporary wall, and has much more damage on its attacks. Because of this, Parsnip is generally better at starting levels, whereas Guacodile is better at dealing damage to hordes quickly.

One should not use Parsnip against zombies that do not eat, such as Explorer Zombie or Excavator Zombie, as Parsnip will only rush if eaten. However, Parsnip can be effective against some of these zombies, such as Jetpack Zombie, since Parsnip is free to attack them without getting destroyed. Parsnip is also a great choice against Mecha-Football Zombie or Punk Zombie as they will push this plant left instead of eating it. Due to this, Parsnip can continuously attack it, similarly to other close range plants.

Parsnip is a good choice against Chicken Wrangler Zombies or Weasel Hoarders as they can stall the Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels while defending at the same time. In addition, when damaged enough, its rush attack can destroy all of them in its lane.

Parsnip can function as a temporary way to deal with Jester Zombie, since Parsnip will rush down the Jester Zombies after taking a few hits. While this is not ideal, it can function. Parsnip can also be useful for combating Imps thrown from Gargantuars, as they'll have to eat Parsnip first, opposed to Guacodile, which activates immediately.

Parsnip is also good when combined with slowing plants, such as Winter Melon or Sap-fling, since this allows Parsnip to get off a lot more damage before rushing. It will also let Parsnip do more damage when charging, since it will have more time to pass the zombies.

What really makes Parsnip worth using is its powerful Plant Food ability. A single Plant Food can help taking out a Gargantuar. However the scarcity of Plant Food makes it less ideal for Endless Zones. However, using Tile Turnip might remedy this in higher levels where sun is more plentiful due to longer levels. Bringing along Power Lily as well can lead to a devastating combo to defeat every zombie in every lane. However, this takes a lot of planning and some gimmicks may interfere with the process.

Trivia

 * Both of its costumes are based on animals.
 * Its claws are not connected to its body, which is a cause of the lack of arm textures.
 * Black-Eyed Pea and Party Thyme share this same trait.
 * When it rushes, it can snip zombies behind it, but when it is rooted it cannot, for unknown reasons.
 * Before an update, Parsnip's Almanac entry misspelled the name as "Parnsip".
 * It has several similarities to crabs, namely fiddler crabs, including its claws and the legs it has when charging.
 * It also has a similarity with cats, due to its scratching animation and it's cat ears costume.
 * Its Almanac entry is the first time the word "death" is used in Plants vs. Zombies 2.
 * In the context of its Almanac entry, it is ironic how Parsnip snips zombies to death, as the zombies are undead.
 * It is debatable as to whether or not Parsnip is an upgrade of Guacodile, as it attacks zombies, but rushes after a zombie gets close and when fed Plant Food, it will push back every zombie in front of it, create two smaller versions of itself and rushing down its lane, similar to Guacodile. However, Parnsip does more damage in close range, but a weaker rush attack.
 * Coincidentally, both are animal-based plants.
 * Rarely, when timed right, it may not rush down the lane, but instead gets eaten as usual, specifically a large amount of zombies eating it at the same time.