Cactus

The Cactus is a combative, projectile based plant that acts as the primary defense against Balloon Zombies. The Cactus could be inspired by any number of members of the genus Cactacae, but it most resembles a Saguaro Cactus, albeit with a red flower instead of a white one.



Suburban Almanac Entry
Cactus

Cactuses shoot spikes that can hit both ground and air targets.

Damage: normal

Range: ground and air

She's prickly, sure, but Cactus' spikes belie a spongy heart filled with love and goodwill. She just wants to hug and be hugged. Most folks can't hang with that, but Cactus doesn't mind. She's been seeing an armadillo for a while and it really seems to be working out.

Cost: 125

Recharge: fast

Usage
The Cactus is essentially a Peashooter that shoots spikes, with the distinction of being able to stretch several feet vertically to pop Balloon Zombies. The damage they deal is the same amount as a Peashooter. Usually, they are only used in a level with Balloon Zombies in it.

Strategy
Cactus is best used in a column to keep the lawn safe from Balloon Zombies. They also make a good substitute for the Peashooter on any level Balloon Zombies could appear. Although the cost difference is negligible, there is a disadvantage that if even a single Balloon Zombie comes into the lane, all of the Cacti will rise and fire at it. If there are no Balloon Zombies, however, the slightly more expensive cost makes Peashooters more useful, and Peashooters are affected by Torchwood. It is cheaper in pool levels to use two Cattails instead of six Cacti. Cactus is a good canidate for getting the Don't Pea in the Pool as an alternative to Peashooters.

Trivia

 * The Cactus is one of the three non-explosive plants that can get rid of the Balloon Zombie. The two others are the Cattail and the Blover.
 * In the loading screen, its mouth is higher than usual.
 * Even though the Cactus and the Cattail have the same projectile, the Cactus' projectile is faster than the Cattail's, but shoots at a longer interval.
 * If stretching, the Cactus has the height of a Tall-nut, and it can even block vaulting zombies if stretching at the right time.
 * The Cactus is one of four plants mentioned with a love life with the other three being Repeater, Threepeater and Garlic.
 * The Cactus, the Cattail and the Sea-shroom are the only projectile-shooting plants having a projectile which has a color not similar to the plant's color.
 * The Cactus cannot work on the slope except for the fifth row on roof levels. This is strange because the Cactus can stretch to the height of a Tall-nut, but does not do that to shoot at approaching zombies on the roof, unless they are Balloon Zombies.
 * Cactus is one of the twelve plants that appear in the seed selection screen after you get the Grave Buster on the online version, the others being: Ice-shroom, Lily Pad, Potato Mine, Threepeater, Tangle Kelp, Jalapeno, Spikeweed, Torchwood, Tall-nut, Doom-shroom and Blover.
 * On the loading screen, its pollen balls are red but during gameplay they are yellow, and in I, Zombie, its pollen balls are orange.
 * In the mini-game Portal Combat, when a Cactus shoots a high spike, it will not float over a portal which is weird because the spikes seems to be high enough to pass over it.
 * If there are two Balloon Zombies the Cactus will shoot three spikes, possibly because the Cactus registers three Balloon Zombies.
 * Cactus and Marigold are the only plants referred to as female.
 * If there are two Cacti in one lane both will shoot at the Balloon Zombie; one will hit it, one will not.
 * When the Cactus targets a Balloon Zombie far away, it shoots two spikes.
 * Even with its prickly body, Cactus is as vulnerable as a normal plant.
 * However, the main part of its body doesn't have many prickles.
 * The Cactus has a much narrower mouth than most other shooting plants.
 * Cactus' sun is 100 in Versus Mode, the same amount used by Peashooter.
 * However, spikes shot through Torchwood are unaffected, giving the Cactus a slight disadvantage against the Peashooter.
 * There is an error in the Cactus' Almanac entry. The entry says "Cactuses shoot spikes that can hit both ground and air targets." The correct form is "Cacti shoot spikes that can hit both ground and air targets."
 * In Cactus' online picture, it just shows its neck raising up.