Fire Piranha Plant

A Venus Fire Trap ("Fire Pakkun" in Japan; also called a Fire Piranha) is a variety of Piranha Plant that can shoot fireballs, and some have the ability to fire three at a time. They come in either green or red varieties and appear in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros., and most recently, New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In their first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, Venus Fire Traps appear as common enemies in most worlds. Their attack pattern basically consist of them hiding in Warp Pipes, much like regular Piranha Plants, and when Mario approaches they would rise from their hiding place and spit an unstoppable fireball in his direction. The only way to defeat them is by using one of the many power-ups available in the game.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Venus Fire Traps once again appear as common enemies and have the same attack pattern as in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario 64
They also appear rarely in Super Mario 64 in Tiny-Huge Island and Bowser in the Sky, where they are drastically smaller than their previous appearances (or, in the case of the Huge part of Tiny-Huge Island, larger). They would attack by appearing suddenly, then blasting a small fireball before disappearing. They were easy to defeat; if Mario punched one, it would simply pop and leave a coin behind. Larger versions appeared in the same game where they were just as large as Super Piranha Plants. They attacked the same and could be defeated with a single punch.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Venus Fire Traps attack and behave in the same way as in Super Mario Bros. 3. They can be defeated with a Fire Flower, Starman, Shell Dash, or by Mega Mario or Luigi.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, their behavior is the same as in New Super Mario Bros. and can be defeated in the same way as last time, however they can also be frozen via Penguin Suit or Ice Flower, as well. They first appeared in 1-3. Venus Fire Traps can also be helpful to Mario and the others. They can be found in dark caves where there are no Glow Blocks. However, the fire these enemies spit can light up a small amount of the room, often revealing secret pipes and pits. The fire still hurts Mario however. Super Venus Fire Traps also appear in this game who are similar to Super Piranha Plants; they are much bigger and take three fireballs to destroy. The fireballs they spit are also larger.

Super Mario 3D
A Venus Fire Trap is scheduled to in appear in the upcoming game, Super Mario 3D. It is now black with red spots. This will be the third time a Venus Fire Trap has appeared in a 3D-world Mario game since Super Mario 64 DS.

Nintendo Comics System
In the Nintendo Comics System story "The Fish That Should've Gotten Away", a giant green Venus Fire Trap appears among the large group of monsters attacking and chasing Mario.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Venus Fire Traps made several appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. Piranha Plants with fireball exhaling abilities similar to Venus Fire Traps also appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! though referred to as a Magic Piranha Plant. In the Super Mario World television series episode "Fire Sale", Kootie Pie kidnaps Mama Fireplant, a Venus Fire Trap from Dome City, and takes her to her ice castle to warm it up.

WarioWare series
In WarioWare: Twisted!, Venus Fire Traps with their Super Mario Bros. 3 sprites appear in the microgame Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift, as one of the enemies who try to attack the player.

Mario Kart DS
In the track Mario Circuit there are two venus fire traps in pipes that will spit fireballs at the racers.

Trivia

 * Venus Fire Trap is a play on the name of a real life carnivorous plant, the Venus Flytrap.