Gold Leaf

Gold Leaf is the fifth and last plant obtained in Lost City in Plants vs. Zombies 2, and she is the world's exclusive plant. She was revealed in the Lost City Part 2 trailer, and gameplay of her was first showcased in a developer diary on June 23, 2015.

Gold Leaf is an instant-use plant that creates a Gold Tile upon planting, similarly to how Tile Turnip creates Power Tiles. This makes her an environment modifier. She cannot be planted on existing Gold Tiles or Power Tiles, nor under endangered plants.

Origins
Gold Leaf is based on a leaf, a thin, flattened plant organ located above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Her name is possibly a reference to a "gold leaf," which is gold that has been hammered into a thin sheet (and thus not actually a plant).

Her Super Saiyan-based costume is internally nicknamed "Hairstyle 9001," a reference to the "Over 9000" internet meme.

Strategies
Due to the nature of Gold Leaf, she can only be rightly compared to a plant like Tile Turnip. The latter plant shows superiority when it comes to function and power, but it is not as easy to use and practical as Gold Leaf. This is not mentioning that Tile Turnip practically requires Power Lily in order to exert it's full potential. However, the fact that Gold Leaf is limited to Lost City only makes it extremely undesirable to try out any more elaborate strategies with her.

As Lost City and Modern Day levels are the only ones with naturally occurring Gold Tiles, it restricts the necessity of Gold Leaf. While she is not needed in regular levels, the player should consider adapting Gold Leaf to their strategy in Temple of Bloom, the Endless Zone of Lost City. The levels in the said Endless Zone have unusually low amounts of Gold Tiles pre-placed on the lawn. This is possibly the game encouraging the use of Gold Leaf, and her use here certainly pays off more than in regular levels due to the fact that the levels themselves are longer. However, even here Gold Leaf is not vital or particularly outstanding, and she should be only considered if the player has all eight seed slots, as otherwise they might be wasting space for much more valuable plants.

Gold Leaf should not be planted in a space where the player will surely not place another plant. It is a waste of sun and recharge time, and the ensuing Gold Tile will also allows Imp Porters to set up their camp. It is advised that they are planted near the left side of the lawn.

Trivia

 * Despite what the Almanac entry says, her recharge is not in fact slow, but rather slightly faster. This trait is shared with Electric Blueberry and Perfume-shroom.
 * Sometimes when she is planted, Tile Turnip's sound effect can be heard.
 * This happens when the player chooses both Tile Turnip and Gold Leaf, planting the former one first, then planting the latter one later on.
 * If the player plants five Gold Leaves in one level, they will earn the Ragweeds to Riches achievement.
 * If the player plants Gold Leaf in the night time version of Lost City, she will be killed instantly before creating a Gold Tile. This is clearly a glitch.
 * Gold Leaf, Imitater, and Thyme Warp cannot be upgraded it the international version of the game.
 * Although Gold Leaf cannot be upgraded, the player can still buy seed packets of her. This is the only way that the player can get them.
 * It cannot be used in Modern Day, even if there are gold tiles featured on that level.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version)

 * In Neon Mixtape Tour - Day 18, a Locked and Loaded level of her is pre-selected in one of the seed slots.
 * This is the only time Gold Leaf can be used outside of Lost City.