Fire Flower

"Screaming pulsars! What in the universe is that thing?! It looks like a flower with a face! Wow... It's a Fire Flower? Hrm... Well, I gotta say there, you collect some of the most interesting stuff I've ever seen!"

- Lubba

A Fire Flower is one of the many power-up items in the Mario series. They first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. This object can be found in a ? Block if Mario or Luigi is in his Super Mario or Super Luigi form. When obtained, the plumber can hurl out fireballs from their hands that can defeat many enemies during gameplay. This power-up later appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World among other appearances in other series, having the same function. The Ice Flower is the polar opposite of the Fire Flower.

Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Bros., if Mario collects a Fire Flower, he will get the ability to shoot fireballs by pressing. The fireballs may be a strong and handy projectile to use because it kills most enemies and even Bowser from a range. Only two fire balls may be thrown at once. If Mario gets hit while he is in this form, he will revert back to Small Mario. If Small Mario gets a Fire Flower, he'll only transform into Super Mario.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Fire flowers return along with every thing else in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. They still grant Mario the same ability and even look exactly the same as its precedence. As the result, nothing much has changed at all.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, they are the third most common power-up, the first being a Mushroom and the second being a Super Leaf. They, like before, grant Mario the ability to shoot fireballs. Not much has changed since Super Mario Bros. regarding the function of it.

The American version of this game introduced the idea that Fire Mario reverted back to Super Mario upon being hit, rather than Small Mario, as in other games. This was retained in all subsequent releases of this game.

Super Mario World
In Super Mario World, the Fire Flowers got a slightly changed appearance. They appear as happy red tulip-like plants instead of a circular appearance like in the other games. Other than this change, nothing has been changed in function.

This game introduces the idea of storing powerups, having the previous one released when Mario is hit by an enemy when in a super powered form. Because of this, Fire Mario reverts back to Small Mario in the SNES version, as he can get the Super Mushroom (or better) that he had before. Additionally, because of the added feature of spin-jumping when Mario does so by pressing, he will shoot out fireballs left and right while in the air.

However, in the Game Boy Advance version, Mario retains the new setup added on by Super Mario Bros. 3. Fire Mario immediately becomes Super Mario upon being hit.

New Super Mario Bros.
In New Super Mario Bros., Fire Flowers could be considered stronger, or weaker. A large amount of enemies are immune to fire, but all bosses aside from Dry Bowser can be defeated using fire. Otherwise, they act as they do in previous games. Blocks containing Super Mushrooms or Fire Flowers are much more common than in previous games.

Super Mario Galaxy
In the Wii game Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario or Luigi obtains this item, he will go into his fire form allowing him to throw fireballs and defeat enemies and light torches. Unlike other games where the powerup lasts until the player takes damage, the powerup only lasts a limited amount of time, although Mario can still take damage with this form, but the Fire Flower will not wear off. Also unlike the other games, the way Mario or Luigi uses it is by simply shaking the Wii Remote. These flowers first appeared in Freezeflame Galaxy along with its counterpart, the Ice Flower. They also appear in the Dusty Dune Galaxy, Deep Dark Galaxy and Snow Cap Galaxy. Like the Super Smash Bros. Brawl figure, it takes the appearance of the New Super Mario Bros. version.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
They also appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii having the same effect as its predecessor. If a fireball is thrown at a character in a bubble, the character will get free from the bubble. Fireballs thrown could also get eaten by Yoshi and spit out as projectiles.

A similar item called the Ice Flower appears. They have nearly the same effect, except the ice balls thrown are slower, break when coming in contact with the floor, and freezes enemies, rather than defeating them.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
The Fire Flower reappears in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Nothing at all has changed about the Fire Flower from the previous game, and it therefore has the exact same function as it did in Super Mario Galaxy. Making its debut appearance is a new mini-game called Crate Burning, which appears in only two missions in the entire game: "The Great Crate Incinerator" in the Rightside Down Galaxy and "Burning Upside Dizzy" in the Upside Dizzy Galaxy. In this minigame, the player is presented with numerous breakable crates, all of which need to be burned within a short time limit via the use of a Fire Flower in order to earn the Power Star for the missions.

Super Mario 3D Land
The Fire Flower reappers once more in Super Mario 3D Land, where it has the same function as the 2D Mario games, this means that, unlike how it appeared in the Super Mario Galaxy games (both 3D games), Mario can keep the power of the Fire Flower as long as he wants, unless he picks another power-up, or gets hit by an enemy.

Cartoon series
Also, Fire Flowers appeared in the cartoon television series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. When Mario or Luigi touches one, they gain their fire powers, although most episodes had their Fire Mario costume either be not changed at all, an orange hat and shirt with red overalls, or the normal red overall/white hat. In "Super Mario World", fire flowers look like orange roses that are always connected to a ? block and sometimes spit out fireballs themselves. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Reign Storm", the Robot Princess orders all Fire Flowers to be extinguished, as if they were actual fires.

"Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit"
The Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" reveals that Fire Flowers have existed since the Stone Age. In this story, Mario uses a Fire Flower to throw Fireballs at a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Super Smash Bros. series
The Super Smash Bros. series has Fire Flowers as well. Once picked up, the player could use it to expel fire, hurting anyone who came too close. It does have a limit to how much fire it can use, and will lose its abilities after constant use. However, this doesn't mean it is worthless. The player could throw the Fire Flower at someone to burn them. In Super Smash Bros., the Fire Flowers are alike to their debut appearance. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, they look like actual flowers with eyes and white petals. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the flower has its appearance from New Super Mario Bros. Also, Mario and Luigi have a similar move where it is their standard special move. Mario shoots red fireballs, and Luigi shoots green. Luigi's fireballs are different from Mario's because Luigi's ricochets off walls. Neither of them change uniforms.

Mario Kart series
The Fire Flower makes a rather uncommon appearance in all of the installments in the Mario Kart series unlike other items such as the Mushroom. Within the series, it is known for being the emblem of the Flower Cup. A poster with a Fire Flower appears in Moonview Highway in Mario Kart Wii. Plus, a store in Coconut Mall sells Mario items. One of these items is a Fire Flower.

In Mario Kart 7, the Fire Flower makes its first appearance as a usable item that can be obtained from an Item Box. Using it, a racer can throw several Fireballs forward or backward to make racers spin out and drop a Coin when hit. The Fire Flower will last for ten seconds after it's used or when the player uses ten fireballs. Fireballs can be thrown with this item by pressing the L button.

Paper Mario series
During the Paper Mario series, the player can use these items towards the enemies Mario and his partners encountered during their travels. These items can be purchased in many shops, such as in the Shroom Grocery from Toad Town, Koopa's Shop from Koopa Village, and Yoshi's Cabana from Lavalava Island from the Nintendo 64 game Paper Mario. Also in the Nintendo GameCube game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, they can be purchased in Toad Bros. Bazaar from Rogueport, Niff T.'s Shop from Petalburg, and Keelhaul Key Galleria from Keelhaul Key. They are (sort of) replaced by Fire Bursts in the sequel. Fire Flowers can be also used as ingredients to be made into new items with a help of Tayce T. or Zess T. Recipes can be found below. In Super Paper Mario, Fire Flowers appear in the skies of Lineland and at Fort Francis, in the room on the left, thus giving them cameos as noncollectable items. Fire Bursts apparently replaced the Fire Flowers from the previous Paper Mario games.

''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In the Nintendo DS game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Fire Flowers are referred to as Bros. Flowers. If used, the player would attack all the enemies with a certain amount of fireballs by constantly pressing the button if it is passed on to Mario or the  button if it is passed on to Luigi. The player can also attack flying enemies by pressing the button (if passed to Mario) or the  button (if passed to Luigi), making their baby counterparts shoot fireballs. In addition, the damage may burn their foes. There are two related items in the game: the Mix Flower and the Ice Flower.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Fire Flowers again appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story as a Special attack obtained by collecting all ten Pump Works Attack Pieces. They're used almost exactly the same as Bros. Flowers in Partners in Time, but after certain number of hits, player can hit both and  buttons to attack simultaneously. Using this item will also change Mario's and Luigi's outfits to Fire Mario and Fire Luigi's outfits. It cost 4 SP to use this attack (two if the clothing is worn). It is one of the hardest moves to get an Excellent due to the player must have very rapid button mashing to make it work.

''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In the Nintendo DS game Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, when a Mini Mario touches a Fire Flower, he becomes a Fire Mini Mario and begins throwing fireballs within a limited time to knock out enemies or defeat them. These items can be obtained from a ? Block during those levels.

Trivia

 * In a similar manner to how Mario and Luigi have both eaten and "absorbed" Mushrooms throughout their games, there is much controversy over whether Mario must eat a Fire Flower or simply touch it to become Fire Mario. Although most games make Fire Flowers simply disappear upon contact with Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door seemingly confirms that Mario does indeed eat Fire Flowers. This is also indicated by a certain optional scene where Mario informs a Lakitu cameraman that he "shoots fire when he eats a flower". In the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit" Mario even reveals something about their taste, claiming that Fire Flowers "taste disgusting, but if I eat them, I can shoot Fireballs".
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the only Super Smash Bros. game where this item appears as it does in recent artwork.
 * In all three Animal Crossing games there was a Fire Flower as a furniture item.