Pianta

"You saved me! Thanks a bundle!"

- Pianta

Piantas are a sentient species of people found on Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine. They somewhat resemble humans, however, Piantas are much larger and can have pink, green, brown, purple, red, orange, yellow, or blue skin. Piantas also have small palm trees growing out of the top of their heads, indicating that they may have come from tropical plants, which is also alluded to by their name, as pianta means "plant" in Italian.

Typically, Piantas wear grass skirts or grass dresses. Piantas are generally laid back, quite strong, and friendly. However, they also have a fairly small temper. Besides Super Mario Sunshine, Piantas have appeared as a recurring species in many spin-off games and also appeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Piantas share their island home with the Nokis. While the Nokis mostly live in Noki Bay, the Piantas mainly reside in Pianta Village. However, while Pianta Village is their primary home, Piantas live all over the island. Many Piantas make a living by producing and selling fruits in small markets on Delfino Plaza. Piantas love fruit and their fondness of fruit always creates a substantial demand for fruit in the island's economy.

Piantas are also a very strong species as they can toss Mario with ease. One Pianta tells Mario that these Piantas are called Chucksters, as well as some of the Chucksters themselves. Mario can sometimes use this to his advantage by having a Pianta toss him to higher ledges and cliffs.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Piantas appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in one galaxy, the Starshine Beach Galaxy, which seems to be based on the different areas from Isle Delfino. Their roles are quite minor, but they can hurl Mario to various spots. These Piantas, however, hurl Mario to another area without needing to engage them in a conversation first. All of the Piantas in the game are male.

Mario Kart series
Piantas appear as spectators in Peach Beach from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Delfino Square from Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and Coconut Mall and Delfino Pier from Mario Kart Wii(P.S. Coconut Mall reappears in Mario Kart 7).

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Piantas reappear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where they are one of the many species living in Rogueport. Here, the attitude of the Piantas is different, and they are organized in the criminal organization known as the Pianta Syndicate, lead by Don Pianta / Frankie. They have control of Rogueport's west side, and are rivaling with the Robbo Gang led by Ishnail, who operate on the east side.

Mario Tennis series
Piantas appear in Mario Power Tennis for the Nintendo GameCube as spectators, and in Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the Game Boy Advance as NPCs and spectators.

Mario Baseball series
Piantas are playable characters in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers. In both installments, all the playable Piantas are males, come in the blue, red, and yellow variants, and have the Laser Beam ability.

In Mario Superstar Baseball, Piantas are the weakest batters among all the Power characters, with the Red Pianta featuring slightly better batting than the other Pianta colors (rivaling King Boo). They are also poor fielders, and very slow runners. Their pitching is at an average level.

In Mario Super Sluggers, all three Piantas have their batting skills improved, making it easier for them to score home runs. They are still rather slow, and they are still poor fielders. Their pitching is also slightly weaker, although the blue Pianta's pitching remains unchanged.

Mario Strikers series
Piantas appear in both Mario Strikers games: Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged as spectators.

Mario Party 8
Piantas appear throughout Goomba's Booty Boardwalk in Mario Party 8. The Doot Doot Sisters dance at the beginning, but have no certain purpose. Yellow Piantas toss the player about five to eight spaces ahead if the player lands on his Green Space. Blue Piantas fish a piece of Candy for the player if their Green Space is landed on. Lastly, orange females run the Candy shops. A blue Pianta also appears as one of the thirty Mario characters racing in Moped Mayhem.

Mario Party 9
In Mario Party 9, one Pianta appears in the minigame Pianta Pool. During the game, it is he that throws the rings out into the pool, which the players must grab so Cheep Cheeps can jump through them. He only tosses the rings into the pool once all of them have been used during that round.

Mario & Sonic series
Piantas appear as spectators in the crossover title Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. They also appear in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, where they are in the crowd, and they are also present as a VIP.

Mario Sports Mix
In Mario Sports Mix, Piantas appear as spectators and are often seen in several courts of the game.

Super Mario Sunshine description
''These mountain folk are strong, sociable, and curious. The trees on their heads provide relief from the island's heat.''

Collectible Card Info
This hefty resident of Isle Delfino swings away with a palm tree branch instead of a bat, but it must be dense wood, because Blue Pianta can hit it a mile when he charges all the way up!

Trivia

 * Piantas are the only friendly species in Super Mario Galaxy 2 to not have a representative on Starship Mario.
 * A cyan Pianta near the fish market in episode seven of Ricco Harbor (Super Mario Sunshine) uses one of the voice clips reserved for Nokis. An orange Pianta next to the Pianta-shaped tree in Pinna Park does the same. This appears to be an oversight of the developers.
 * In Mario Super Sluggers, it's interesting to point out that while the Piantas share good chemistry with the Toads and Toadsworth, the Nokis have good chemistry with Toadette, whose chemistry is neutral with the Piantas. In a similar manner, the Toads and Toadsworth have neutral chemistry with the Nokis.
 * The male Red Pianta is more magenta-colored than red in the Mario Baseball series.
 * The beta version of Super Mario Sunshine included black Piantas.