Lava Lotus

A Lava Lotus is an artificial flower that lives underwater in Super Mario Bros. 3. It resembles a large translucent version of Panser from Super Mario Bros. 2. Lava Lotuses are capable of creating and storing lava balls under their transparent petals and attack by opening up to release them. The lava balls can go through platforms and make navigating underwater difficult. The number they shoot out is random and can be up to five at a time. The lava balls travel rather slowly and in a straight line from their point of release. They can be defeated only by Hammer Mario or Invincible Mario.

A single Lava Lotus appears briefly in the episode "Oh, Brother!" of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. This Lava Lotus unleashes its lava balls on Frog Luigi, who manages to swim past them with ease.

In the book Dinosaur Dilemma, Mario avoids some Lava Lotuses while collecting coins in Lake Trilobite.

According to Nintendo Power, Lava Lotuses have a relation to Piranha Plants, despite there being no such indication in the original instruction booklet.

Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
''' スイチューカ 　フラワー族 　派手好き ゲーム　3 ''' 水中に咲く危険な花 海底に咲いているとても美しい花. 近づくと赤い玉を次々に出す危険な花だ. ハンマーや、地蔵になっての踏みつけ以外には無敵なので、玉を出す前に素早く上を通過しよう.

 Lava Lotus  Tribe: Flower clan Disposition: Extravagant Game appearances: 3 ' Dangerous flowers in the water ''A very beautiful flower blooming at the bottom of the sea. It is a dangerous flower that produces a series of red balls when approached. It is invincible except when you use a Hammer or statue to trample on it, so try to pass over it quickly before it shoots out red balls.''

Notes and references
Lava-Pflanze Lotolava