Vine
Beanstalks (sometimes called Vines) are used as ladders in the Mario games. They first appeared in Super Mario Bros. and came out of ? Blocks. When Mario or Luigi hit the blocks containing the Beanstalk, a Beanstalk would grow allowing Mario or Luigi to use it as a ladder. They also appeared in most platformer games.
The Beanstalk also appears in Hotel Mario. Luigi kicks a yellow ! block, and a giant vine comes out which Mario and Luigi climb to go to Lemmy's High-ate Regency Hotel.
A Beanstalk is also an item in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS, having a smaller head and smaller eyes in the latter game. Occasionally, when popping a ? Mark Cloud, Yoshi may uncover one of the seeds of these large, cheery plants. It then grows upwards at a very fast rate and produces ledge-like leaves while doing so. By hopping up its leaves, Yoshi can reach places otherwise inaccesible.
If the player is carrying an item such as a P-Switch, the stalk cannot be climbed normally. The player can kick the item up, start to climb the Beanstalk, and then hold the Y button again to catch the item coming down while climbing.
In New Super Mario Bros., beanstalks have the head of a Piranha Plant at the top of them. They are also capable of growing downwards if Mario or Luigi hit the block containg the beanstalk from above with a ground pound.
In Super Mario Galaxy, beanstalks can be found in certain galaxies such as the Good Egg Galaxy and the Gusty Garden Galaxy, usually after defeating a Piranha Plant. Due to the low gravity in these areas, the beanstalks do not sprout straight upwards; they twist and turn as they grow. They are mainly used as a means to travel to between planets. Also, in this game beanstalks must be climbed by shaking the Wii Remote.
Appearances in Other Media
A beanstalk appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Mario and the Beanstalk", which in itself was a spoof of Jack and the Beanstalk. The premise of the episode involved Mario and Luigi foolishly trading Princess Toadstool's Royal Cow for garbanzo beans, which the Princess rejected by sneezing them out of Mario's hand and into the soil, due to her allergy. The beans grew into a huge beanstalk overnight, which led Mario's group up into the clouds, where they discovered an enlarged King Koopa's castle.
After escaping from the castle, King Koopa summoned several Hoopsters to stop Mario and friends' progress on their way back down the beanstalk. However, the Hoopsters were quickly defeated by having freshly-picked garbanzo beans thrown at them. Upon reaching the bottom, Luigi chopped down the beanstalk with an axe, which brought King Koopa's entire castle crashing down with it.
Small Beanstalks could also be seen in the background of a few episodes of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. However, they were never integral to the plot of any episode.
In the Super Mario World episode "Party Line", countless beanstalks were used as telephone lines (or rather, vines) for the Cave People of Dome City. After the concept of telephones proved to be unnecessary for the Cave People, Yoshi was given the job of eating all the vines.
