| Dune Bud | |
|---|---|
 A swollen Dune Bud, having been sprayed | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Sunshine (2002) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) |
- “Now, this here is what we call a Dune Bud. Dune Buds are odd plants that appear only on this beach. If you water them, strange things will happen.”
- —Noki, Super Mario Sunshine
Dune Buds, also known as Beansprouts,[1] are small plants found only on Gelato Beach in Super Mario Sunshine. Initially appearing as tiny purple buds sticking out of the ground, Dune Buds can be sprayed with water from FLUDD to cause them to grow up extremely rapidly and then turn orange before causing a specially shaped sand dune to pop up on the beach for a few seconds. This can be used to the player's advantage, in order to acquire normally unreachable midair formations of coins, destroy Cataquacks, or stun the giant green Wiggler boss during Episode 3. Instead of becoming raised up when sprayed with water, some Dune Buds form indented pits that hide items such as Yellow Coins, Blue Coins, or even Shine Sprites.
There is a total of nine different Dune Bud shapes found on Gelato Beach. The location of each Dune Bud occasionally varies depending on the episode that the player visits the beach in, and in a few episodes, some Dune Buds are not present at all. The shape of each Dune Bud along with their various locations are listed below.
| Shape | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle | In front of the Sand Cabana | In front of the Sand Cabana | N/A | In front of the Sand Cabana | N/A | In front of the Sand Cabana | In front of the Sand Cabana | In front of the Sand Cabana |
| Pyramid | In front of the Sand Cabana | N/A | The middle of Gelato Beach | In front of the Sand Cabana | To the right of the Sand Cabana | N/A | N/A | In front of the Sand Cabana |
| Footprint | To the left of the Sand Cabana | To the left of the Sand Cabana | To the left of the Sand Cabana | To the left of the Sand Cabana | To the left of the Sand Cabana | To the left of the Sand Cabana. It is blocked by an Orange Juice Generator. | To the left of the Sand Cabana. It is blocked by an Orange Juice Generator. | To the left of the Sand Cabana. It is blocked by an Orange Juice Generator. |
| Swirl | The middle of Gelato Beach | N/A | In front of the Sand Cabana | The middle of Gelato Beach | The middle of Gelato Beach | N/A | The middle of Gelato Beach | The middle of Gelato Beach |
| The Sand Portal | Southwest end of Gelato Beach | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Igloo | In front of the Surf Cabana | N/A | Southwest end of Gelato Beach | Southwest end of Gelato Beach | In front of the Sand Cabana | N/A | To the left of the Sand Cabana | N/A |
| Star | In front of the Surf Cabana | N/A | In front of the Surf Cabana | In front of the Surf Cabana | In front of the Surf Cabana | N/A | In front of the Surf Cabana | In front of the Surf Cabana |
| Descending Staircase | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower |
| Ascending Staircase | N/A | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | Behind the Shine Tower | N/A | N/A | N/A | Behind the Shine Tower |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 木の芽[2] Ki no Me |
Tree Bud | |
| French | Fleur des Sables[?] | Sands Flower | |
| Italian | Fiore di Duna[?] | Dune Flower |
Trivia
References
- ^ Bogenn, Tim, and Doug Walsh. Super Mario Sunshine BradyGames Official Strategy Guide. Pages 62, 65, 66, 68.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors.『スーパーマリオブラザーズ百科: 任天堂公式ガイドブック』[Japanese source]. Tokyo, Shogakukan, 2015, p. 105.