Classification as a plant[]
There seems to be some disagreement by editors as to whether this block should be described as a "plant." The way I see it, "plant" in this context refers simply to the classification used on this wiki (i.e. the plants article), and isn't meant to imply anything about the biology of the real-life organism that the block is based on. I don't know if there's any existing convention regarding this, though, or what to do if there isn't one, so I figured I should bring up this issue in case it can help it be resolved. Craftykids (talk) 03:00, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- That page defines plants as "Minecraft's representation of plant life and other stationary life forms". Coral and sea pickles certainly fit *that* definition, but it seems bizarre to me. If plant means plant, then "other stationary life forms" should not be considered plants, but if plants mean something mechanical, then certainly it should include blocks that grow/spread, and not things like dead bushes and lily pads (though bizarrely only the former are listed there?). Personally, I don't support this hybrid definition of "This mechanical category and also unrelated stuff that obviously represents real-world plants" especially where that definition is not explicitly stated nearby. It's worth noting this is also debated in the discussion of that page. Cultist O (talk) 08:19, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- Because of this very issue, I see little value in having a plants page to begin with. It's a confused definition, invented by the wiki, not defined tightly by the developers or the game itself, and serves no real purpose beyond perpetuating its own confused definition. – Sealbudsman talk/contr 13:33, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- I agree with that.-- Madminecrafter12
Talk to me
13:35, 7 April 2018 (UTC) - I'd say the plants page would be fine for the blocks/items that are actually plants (thus, Nether Wart, Podzol, Mushrooms and Mycelium shouldn't be in it), except the page is lacking any kind of purpose other than being a list of somewhat related blocks and items, so it's pretty much pointless. And even as a list, it's not great, Crops is a much better list/disambiguation page. - Princessnightmoon (talk) 14:00, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- I agree with that.-- Madminecrafter12
- Some good points. Something I should maybe note is that the "stationary life forms" part of the plants article was only recently added by me, although mushrooms have been listed there since 2011. I feel like there should be some use in a conceptual grouping of blocks that represent living things, but I don't have any specific uses in mind, and the plants article as it is probably isn't a good fit for that purpose anyway. I do though think that having it be a mechanical grouping wouldn't be very useful, since it's essentially just a broad sub-category of renewable resources. Anyway, though, even if sea pickles aren't described as plants, they probably shouldn't be described as "colonies of small stationary animals," right? As far as I can tell, the wiki tends to describe things by their in-game function rather than by exactly what they represent conceptually. Craftykids (talk) 17:41, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- IMO "plants" is a good category for people who look for things to add to a garden they build, or to identify an in-game object they saw and can broadly describe as a plant. It definitely doesn't deserve to fall a victim of hair-splitting over the precise definition of "plant" - it's a completely pointless squabble over details only people with OCD care about. This is not Wikipedia where strict adherence to real-life scientific nomenclature is essential. What is the great importance of making the authoritative distinction whether the Sea Pickle (a fictitious creation very remotely based upon a real life concept) is a plant or not? Sharfpang (talk) 16:06, 8 February 2019 (UTC)
- (might be redundant now, but alright) From the Crowdin translation project for this string (Dutch language, but should be fine): According to Helen Angel (community manager), it's a pyrosome: "It’s a pyrosome. Like coral it’s technically an animal but not treated as a mob in Minecraft but that’s why it dies out of water.". This would suggest it is treated as a so-called anthozoa. —DarkShadowTNT (t ♦ c) 18:13, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
- Being the one who reverted one of the "animal" revisions, I personally don't care whether it's called a plant or not. I just don't think it should be called an animal on the wiki. When speaking of Minecraft, seeing "animal" makes me think "mob," which I think others will also think. Sea pickles do not have health, no AI, drops itself as an item, and has a visible hit box when you hover your crosshair over them; not even Shulkers, which generate with the end city blocks have them. — Incrazone (talk) 06:54, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
growth/spread[]
It seems that it doesn't actually grow, the only way to spread it is to bonemeal it on corals. Gendalv92339 (talk) 20:31, 23 September 2019 (UTC)