Red Stinger

Red Stinger is the first plant obtained in Lost City in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It was first revealed in the trailer for Lost City Part 1, then more information was released with the Lost City Part 1 developer diary.

When planted on the first three columns to the left, Red Stinger will fire two seeds at a time, but have the same health as a regular plant. If the Red Stinger is located in the next three columns to the right, it will be more defensive having ten health and will fire just one petal. If it is placed on the last three columns on the right, it will be a defensive plant with 15 health, but it will not be able to attack. Each petal does 1.5 normal damage shots killing a Basic Zombie with 7 petals.

Etymology
Red Stinger is based on the Etlingera elatior, known as the torch ginger. It is a flower found in tropical areas. The meaning of its in-game name, however, is left unclear. As it does not sting anything, the most probable possibility is that "Red Stinger" is actually a pun on "red ginger," an alternative name of the plant it is based on.

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 150

DAMAGE: Moderate RANGE: Straight RECHARGE: Fast

Red Stingers fire shots at full force when close to home, and become more defensive further from it.

Flexibility is of key importance to Red Stinger. "I do stretching exercises every morning," he says. "It's important to stay physically and mentally nimble."

Plant Food upgrade
When given Plant Food, Red Stinger fires a focused laser beam, slowing and dealing a total of 34.5 normal damage shots to all zombies in the lane.

Strategies
While using this plant on the far side of the closest column, be sure to combine this plant with other helpful plants such as Lightning Reeds and Bowling Bulbs for extra damage. Pay attention to the Red Stinger in the last three columns, as it is weaker than the Pea-nut on the last three columns.

Using its Plant Food on a Red Stinger is a good idea, as it can deal a great deal of damage to zombies with higher toughness (such as the Buckethead Zombie and its variations). Sweet Potatoes are a good idea to use with boosted Red Stingers, as the Plant Food effect can deal an entire lane of zombies with high toughness (such as Buckethead Zombies). Its Plant Food effect is also useful against entire lanes of Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels when attracted by Sweet Potatoes.

Avoid planting this plant in the last three columns. Not only does this usage waste your sun, but zombies in large numbers can completely destroy it in Endless Zones. If you put it in the middle three columns, be aware that its health and firing rate are similar to a Pea-nut's at its last degrade. It is recommended to put them in the first three columns instead so the Red Stingers can attack.

Trivia

 * Red Stinger and Snapdragon both deal 1.5 normal damage shots.
 * This earned both a sun cost a hundred times that of their damage output (150 sun).
 * It has the same type of idle animation as Dandelion.
 * Red Stinger, Cactus in Plants vs. Zombies 2, Scaredy-shroom, Shamrock, Shamrockstar, and Celery Stalker are the only plants that can hide.
 * It is the only one of these plants that do not usually hide when zombies are close to it.
 * Although it is a defensive plant when placed on the right side of the lawn, it cannot be healed with Wall-nut First Aid.
 * This trait is shared with Garlic.
 * Red Stinger is the only plant with four different functions, including its Plant Food effects.
 * Only Strawburst with its seven functions has more than Red Stinger.
 * It is the only plant that has different roles depending on its location of the lawn.
 * Despite it having three different stances, it only displays one Plant Food effect regardless of which column it is planted in.
 * If Red Stinger's Plant Food effect is used near the end of a Piñata Party, its laser beam will still be visible while whacking piñatas.
 * Red Stinger, Sap-fling, and Stallia are the only non-ice plants that can slow down zombies.
 * One of its costumes is a reference to either Peter Pan or Robin Hood.
 * If Red Stinger is moved to a different tile by a zombie like Mecha-Football Zombie, Fisherman Zombie, or Excavator Zombie, it will change its role accordingly to what part of the lawn it is moved to.
 * Red Stinger, Endurian, its counterpart in Plants vs. Zombies Online, Pea-nut, Celery Stalker, and Vigorous Broccoli are the only plants that have both offensive and defensive abilities.