Sunflower

At present, Sunflower's base production is still one normal sun pickup, worth 25 sun. After planting, the first production occurs at a uniformly random moment in [500, 1000] cs. Later waiting time is set by production level: level 0 is [2976, 3000] cs, level 1 is [2226, 2250] cs, level 2 is [1726, 1750] cs, level 3 is [1226, 1250] cs, and level 4 is [726, 750] cs. The production animation itself does not advance the next waiting timer, so these intervals describe the waiting segment between two production actions.

A four- or five-match clears the retained center plant's waiting timer, usually causing it to enter a production action as soon as possible; if the center plant is already in the production animation, this immediate-production effect does not stack into another cycle. The Twin state does not change the waiting formula; it makes the same production cycle output 50 sun value (two normal sun pickups).

Planting CocoBottle Shine on Sunflower grants that Sunflower one large-sun charge: the next normal sun produced becomes a 125-value large sun. If the target is Twin Sunflower, the same cycle outputs 250 sun value (two large suns). Since 0.17p, the large-sun charge can be inherited along with matching onto the retained plant.

By default, matching only checks horizontal and vertical continuous lines; diagonals do not count. After a Sunflower is planted, moved into place, or rearranged by another effect, a straight line of at least three Sunflowers on the same row or column attempts to resolve. Lines longer than five do not become six-matches or higher; since 0.17p, matching is no longer directional.

A three-match does not retain a center plant. All three participating Sunflowers are consumed, and the match resolves normal sun at the center. With no Twin involved, the base reward is 10 normal sun pickups, or 250 sun value; every upgraded level among the participants adds 8 more pickups, or 200 sun value. Three level-4 Sunflowers in one three-match can therefore resolve 2,650 sun value (106 normal sun pickups) at once.

Four- and five-matches both retain one center Sunflower and also resolve a base sun reward. A four-match starts at 6 normal sun pickups (150 sun value), while a five-match starts at 10 pickups (250 sun value). When the inherited level value exceeds the level-4 cap, each overflow level converts into another 250 sun value. Matched sun is auto-collected and is usable at the moment the match resolves.

A four-match retains one center Sunflower and turns it into the primitive-petaled upgraded form. Its raw inherited value equals the sum of all participating levels plus 1, and the final level is capped at 4. If the raw value exceeds 4, every overflow level converts into 250 sun value (10 additional normal sun pickups). A four-match on a capped Sunflower therefore still resolves sun; only the reward shape changes from production level to immediate sun.

A five-match without an existing Twin retains one center plant and converts it into Twin Sunflower. The five-match does not add an extra level by itself, but it does inherit existing participating levels; if the level sum exceeds 4, overflow levels are paid back as extra sun. A five-match made from unupgraded Sunflowers therefore creates a level-0 Twin, while one that absorbs upgraded Sunflowers can immediately create a higher-level Twin.

The retained center is not a freshly generated plant: it keeps its tile and allegiance state, and upgrade or conversion restores missing HP. Note: before 0.17p, directional center-selection details could be observed; the current build is non-directional retention. A single involved Twin still has retention priority in a four-match, higher-level Sunflowers usually win retention, and extreme shapes should be checked against the in-game result.

Twin Sunflower is protected during matching: it cannot be consumed by a normal three-match, and it cannot be converted into a second Twin by another five-match. If a three-line contains a Twin, it does not resolve. If a four-line contains exactly one Twin, that Twin must become the retained center. If the same four-line contains multiple Twins, the match usually fails to resolve. If a five-line contains a single Twin, it resolves as a four-match instead, keeping the Twin as an upgradeable center.

Charm state reverses Sunflower economy. Charmed Sunflowers only match with other charmed Sunflowers; normal and charmed Sunflowers do not participate in each other's matching lines. When a charmed Sunflower produces sun or resolves a match, the equivalent amount of sun is subtracted from the player instead of added.

When one placement or movement satisfies both the horizontal and vertical axes, both axes resolve in the same event: 3+3 uses fewer tiles to trigger two immediate sun rewards, 3+4 returns sun while also producing an upgraded center, and 3+5, 4+4, and 4+5 follow the same principle.

In a compound match, a Sunflower that has already become the retained center on one line will not be consumed by another line. Since 0.17p, compound shapes no longer produce different payouts merely because of horizontal/vertical direction or rotation angle; the meaningful factors are retained-center protection, Twin protection, upgrade levels, and inheritable states when three-, four-, and five-matches overlap.

A 5+5 pattern does not produce two full five-matches. Since the two axes necessarily share the same center, and Twin Sunflower cannot be converted by another five-match, the result degrades into a five-match plus a four-match and leaves an extra Sunflower on the board. With repositioning tools such as Decamp Dodder or moving tiles, a single resolution can reach a very high sun ceiling, but it still follows the non-directional retained-center and Twin-protection result.

Story text frames Sunflower's matching ability as something gained after “that dream.” The early tutorial has Ghastasaucey explain the three match sizes directly: three in a row gives immediate sun, four in a row strengthens one Sunflower, and five in a row creates a protected golden form that produces twice. Before the expedition begins, Peashooter also remarks that Sunflower only recently gained this strange matching ability.

In Maple Lake dialogue, Hurriclover calls a four-matched Sunflower “primitive” and asks whether matching a primitive-petaled Sunflower in a three-line yields more sun than usual. That dialogue maps directly onto the rule that upgraded levels add to three-match output. The wiki history also records that Sunflower's core matching feature was proposed by 時初 rather than designed by Ghastasaucey.

Systemically, Sunflower rewrites a fixed economy plant into board economy: three-matches are emergency funding, four- and five-matches are long-term investment, and compound matches reward planning tiles and movement effects ahead of time.