Plantern


 * For the Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars plant, see Plantern (PvZ: AS).

Plantern is a plant obtained in the Fog area that will illuminate and disperse a large area of fog (7x5), allowing the player to see approaching zombies and their own defense within the cleared radius, like Torchwood. This makes it an environment modifier. They can be planted anywhere, but are only used for their real purpose in the Fog and Vasebreaker levels. Technically, like the Grave Buster, the Plantern is not actually a Night plant, because it is not a mushroom, and therefore, it does not need to be planted in the Mushroom Garden to grow.

Origins
Its name is a portmanteau of "plant," referring to its leaves and roots and "lantern," referencing its light-producing ability. However, it resembles a streetlamp more than an actual lantern.

In Plants vs. Zombies
Plantern

Planterns light up an area, letting you see through fog.

Range: one lane

Special: lets you see through fog

Plantern defies science. He just does. Other plants eat light and excrete oxygen; Plantern eats darkness and excretes light. Plantern's cagey about how he does it. "I'm not gonna say 'sorcery,' I wouldn't use the term 'dark forces,' I just... I think I've said enough."

Cost: 25

Recharge: slow

In Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version)
Sun cost: 25

TOUGHNESS: Typical

RECHARGE: Fast (Sluggish in game)

路灯花可以驱散迷雾并且看到隐形状态的盗贼僵尸.

路灯花蔑视科学，他就这样. 其他植物吸收光可以排出氧气，路灯花都吸收黑暗发出光. 路灯花曾就此坦言：“我不说什么‘巫术魔法’之类的东西，我只使用‘黑暗原力’这个词，我只是……我认为我已经说的够多的了. ”

In English:

Plantern illuminates an area of the floor grid, Rogue Zombie can also be seen in an invisible state.

Plantern defies science. He just does. Other plants eat light and excrete oxygen; Plantern eats darkness and excretes light. Plantern's cagey about how he does it. "I'm not gonna say 'sorcery,' I wouldn't use the term 'dark forces,' I just... I think I've said enough."

Plants vs. Zombies
The only purpose of the Plantern is to illuminate areas of Fog in the fog levels and It's Raining Seeds. Plant it within the foggy area on the right side of the screen to reveal the enemy. If Planterns are planted one square into the foggy area in the rows on either side of the Pool, all of the fog will disappear aside from some scraps of it in the corners of the screen.

In Vasebreaker, it is used to reveal what the vases contain within a 3x3 range.

It is a more easy-to-use and a more sun-saving alternative than the Blover. The latter however can be used in a harder but more practical way.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese)
Plantern's purpose remains mostly the same, except it can now reveal any invisible Rogue Zombies in an area. The area Plantern lights up is as follows:

L  L L L L L P L L   L L L     L L: Lighted area

P: Plantern

The foggy area it illuminates is roughly the same.

Plant Food effect
When given Plant Food, Plantern shines in a 5x5 area for a while.

Costumed
Plantern stuns all zombies in the area for a while.

Standard Levels
It is a good idea to put Planterns behind defensive plants such as Wall-nuts or Garlic, or inside a Pumpkin, to prevent them from being eaten if you can. The player should plant only two Planterns in a level, place it near the pool on the fourth row to the right side of the lawn.

Vasebreaker
The Plantern will reveal the contents of any adjacent or diagonally adjacent vases - up to eight at most. In an emergency, a Plantern may be used as a poor man's blockade to briefly delay zombies while attempting to kill them with other plants. Ideally, it should be placed in the middle of as many vases as possible. Try to break a vase in the middle of a 3x3 square and then plant a Plantern there.

It's Raining Seeds mini-game
In the mini-game, It's Raining Seeds, there is fog, so use Planterns the same way that you do in the Adventure Mode levels. However, it depends on luck whether the player will receive the seed packet or not.

Survival: Fog and Survival: Fog (Hard)
In Survival: Fog and Survival: Fog (Hard), use Planterns in the usual way. It is recommended that they are planted during the first two flags (before you get to choose new seed packets). Alternatively, for the Survival Mode levels, you can use Blovers instead, which also gets rid of Balloon Zombies and makes room for more plants, although there is the loss of sun every time you use the Blover. The Torchwood is also a viable replacement for Planterns, as it doubles the firepower of all peashooting plants in addition to clearing fog, but it clears a much smaller area of fog than a Plantern. It is suggested to use a Pumpkin around your Plantern to prevent zombies from eating it easily. Also, Garlic can be placed in front of the Plantern to divert zombies from eating your Plantern easily, while reinforced with Spikerock in front of the Garlic for increased damage.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version)
Only select Planterns when you see fog or the Rogue Zombie in the seed selection in Dark Ages. However, the Plantern will illuminate more squares unlike in the prequel. Try to keep a defensive plant adjacent to it or you will risk 25 Sun wasted. It is best to use Plant Food on your defensive plants so that you will protect your Planterns from being eaten.

General

 * It and Groundcherry are only plants based on a lanterns.
 * Its leaves and roots are the only parts of it that are found in most plants.

Specific to Plants vs Zombies

 * It, Torchwood, and Sea-shroom are the only plants with visible roots.
 * Only Plantern, Torchwood, and Blover can make fog disappear.
 * It and Torchwood are the only fog-affecting plants which make fog stay away infinitely until they get eaten, crushed, or dug up. The Blover clears the fog for a while, but then it comes back.
 * Its range, rather than being one lane as the Almanac states, is actually a three square radius around it. Due to this, planting it on the far left of the player's defenses will reveal nothing.
 * Since it is used in Vasebreaker and there is no fog, its light will illuminate the vases around where it is planted, allowing the player to see what is inside the vases.
 * Also, in Vasebreaker, its range is only 3x3, not 5x7.
 * Plantern is one of the two non-mushroom plants that have a night background in the Suburban Almanac, with the other one being the Grave Buster.
 * If it is planted in Survival: Fog or Survival: Fog (Hard), every time after reselecting plants, fog will appear around the area it covers for about a second, then recede.
 * It makes an illuminating sound when it is planted.
 * In the iPhone version of Zen Garden, the Plantern casts a light.
 * It is one of the plants that is not available in Versus Mode. The others are Lily Pad, Tangle Kelp, Sea-shroom, Blover, Flower Pot, and Marigold.
 * On the iPad version of Plants vs. Zombies, it only has one leaf in each corner of the lantern, instead of three. However, the seed packet shows three leaves.
 * Its Imitater variant has its eyes barely visible.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version)

 * Its idle animation in-game changes once the costume is on. However, in the almanac and seed selection screen, the idle animation is the same.
 * Its code name is "streetlamp." It is referring to Plantern's Chinese name, Street Lamp.
 * It illuminates in a different pattern and has a different lighting animation than the first game.
 * It, Coffee Bean and Gatling Pea are only plants from first game that appear in Chinese version but not appear in international version.
 * It, Oak Archer and Coffee Bean are the only Chinese-exclusive plants in Dark Ages.