Goponga Flower

Goponga Flowers are white-petaled flowers with traits of sea anemones that are native to swamp areas. They first appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and later in both The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. In their debut appearance, Goponga Flowers have a larger counterpart, Giant Goponga Flowers.

Goponga Flowers are named for being indigenous plants of Goponga Swamp. They act more as obstacles because they do not move and cannot injure Link unless he touches them.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Goponga Flowers appear in the swamp waters of Goponga Swamp, blocking some paths and the entrance to Bottle Grotto. Early in his adventure, Link cannot defeat the Goponga Flowers by himself. According to Old Man Ulrira, Goponga Flowers are BowWow's favorite food, so to enter Bottle Grotto, Link must walk BowWow and have him eat the Goponga Flowers in his path. Later in his adventure, Link can defeat Goponga Flowers by himself with either the Koholint Sword, the Magic Rod, the Boomerang, or the Hookshot. In the Nintendo Switch remake, the conical center is replaced with a nozzle-like protrusion, but they otherwise look the same. One of the ones surrounding Bottle Grotto is replaced with a rock, allowing it to be revisited sooner.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Goponga Flowers are encountered at Spool Swamp, especially during the summer, and also appear in Natzu River and a watery cave in North Horon. They retain their sprite from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX but act slightly different than in their debut appearance. These Goponga Flowers can attack Link by spitting fireballs, like Giant Goponga Flowers in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Link can defeat Goponga Flowers by using strong swords, his Boomerang, an Ember Seed, a bomb, or Dimitri's biting.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Goponga Flowers appear in Nuun Highlands if Dimitri is Link's partner. Other than this, only one appears, and it is located in Jabu-Jabu's Belly. It is the only time when a Goponga Flower appears in an area aside from a swamp. They retain their behavior from The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and can be beaten in the same ways as before, as well as with the Switch Hook and Long Hook.

Profiles and descriptions

 * The Great Hyrule Encyclopedia (Zelda Universe): "Native to the Goponga Swamp on Koholint Island, Goponga Flowers are hearty plants which dig their roots deep into the swampy soil. They are not very threatening, but they make travel through some areas of the swamp nearly impossible. When full grown, they become known as Giant Goponga Flowers."