Pestiferous Vine

Pestiferous Vine appear to be massive living vines that infect other mobs. Pestiferous Vines aren't really a plant, but rather a hybrid fungus with a type of plant parasitic worms.They really exist outside the Dungeon.

Description

Mordecai tells Carl that a Pestiferous Vine is one of a couple different types of mind-control vine monsters. The Pestiferous Vine specifically uses a combination of spores and parasitic worms (like the kind used to control Heather the Bear and the Mold Lions). ^[1]

Using them in a show on the Third floor is a common trope tied to the fact that the Third Floor is tied to Scolopendra. They are particularly prevalent on the Sixth Floor, killing many crawlers. ^[1]

Pestiferous Vines aren't really a plants, but rather a hybrid fungus with a type of plant parasitic worms. The mold spores infect the parasitic worms which then infect other mobs.

To kill a Pestiferous Vine, one needs to feed it poisoned blood. It is fairly easy to kill, but it takes time to kill it, about 15 to 20 minutes. It can't feel that it is poisoned and will instantaneously drop dead. Any mobs under it's control will go insane, drop dead, or not even realize that it is dead. However if the vine figures out it has been poisoned, and the blood it was poisoned with is cured (for instance if a crawler gives themselves an antidote), then the vine will attempt to heal itself by acquiring the same cured blood. ^[1]

Appearance

Description of Grimaldi in Pestiferous Vine form:

This was more of a giant-ass bush or shrub than a vine. It took the entirety of the center ring, and it reached the ceiling of the tent, swallowing the pole. It was a pale green color, less haphazard looking than I’d expected. Along the ground, multiple, python-like roots spread. Unable to find purchase in the floor of the Over City, the roots spread above ground, reaching all corners of the tent. ^[1]

References