Pseuderanthemum maculatum
A firm-armored shrub that leads turn 1 on high initiative, blunts every hit and taunts from level 68 — a native buffer or an invasive attacker.
Golden Pseuderanthemum is a firm-armored Shrub that fights a plain, fast-opening game: it leads turn 1 on a high initiative, buffs its own attack once mid-fight, and saps the target with its advanced attack. It is native to Oceania and invasive across Africa, South America and South Asia, so the arena can field it either way — as a native buffer or as an invasive attacker. It is a modest card that leans on shrub-band bulk, with a hit-blunting leaf and a late taunt to make that bulk count.
Its starter attack, Tick Tumble, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun, dealing about 26 damage as a native and 31 as an invasive — a plain hit. The free once-per-battle ability, Facilitation, arrives at level 25: Shelters its own and starves the rest: heal 50%, and the foe's bench withers. It is a mid-fight boost to its own attack. The advanced attack, Blackthorn Barrage, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (39 native / 44 invasive) and saps the target as it strikes. Most of your Golden Pseuderanthemum sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.
Golden pseuderanthemum carries one working trait per riser. Sclerophylly (level 10) is worth a flat 3 off every direct hit. Sapromyophily (level 68) turns its bright variegated foliage into a lure that takes the single-victim pick. See Abilities.
Golden Pseuderanthemum is non-toxic: striking it carries no contact recoil, and its attacks carry no poison rider. Its habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium/magnesium amendment — reinforces its shrub-band durability; as an invasive, offensive gear pushes its higher attack. See statuses.
At level 40 Golden Pseuderanthemum reads 103 HP native and 89 invasive, with ATK of 16 native versus 28 invasive — the native attack is low, and the invasive card hits noticeably harder. DEF is 13, firmer than a weed or herb in the shrub band, so it takes hits reasonably well. Its tempo is front-loaded: turn 1 runs on a high initiative (51), so it leads early, but every turn after runs on a lower SPD (34), so it is out-paced once the fight settles. Retreat costs 16 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active; as an invasive it pays Faustian self-damage to its own bench on each damaging attack and concedes 2 prizes when knocked out. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, Golden Pseuderanthemum climbs to 190 HP native / 165 invasive and 28 / 56 ATK, and its DEF reaches 28 — as a shrub it firms up into decent armor, better than a soft card though short of a tree's wall. Retreat rises to 33 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature plant loses its early lead and acts last against almost anything younger.
As a shrub, Golden Pseuderanthemum sits in the Competitor succession group. It hits Ruderal plants (annual forbs, grasses, aquatics, bulbs) for ×1.5 and takes only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Specialist plants (succulents, conifers, ferns, epiphytes), which strike it for ×1.5 while resisting its blows. Against other Competitors and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play Golden Pseuderanthemum on its turn-1 lead: open, buff its own attack, and sap the target with its advanced hit while its shrub-band armor keeps it standing. Its native attack is weak, so a native card is more buffer than threat — lean on its bench overshield to help your active; as an invasive its higher ATK gives it real teeth, though the Faustian bench cost and conceded prizes are the price. On economy, it is inedible, so any nutrient you feed it banks ×1.25 XP toward faster growth rather than coins. It plays as a fast-opening skirmisher that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 30 as a native and 31 as an invasive — but it is always stronger at higher levels, so there is no reason to hold it back.
Leveling trades speed for power. A plant’s tempo (SPD + INI, the turn-order edge) fades as it grows, while its power (HP + ATK + DEF, net of the rising Sun cost to retreat) climbs. The crossover is the level where power overtakes tempo: below it the plant is a fast skirmisher, above it a heavyweight. Shown for each stance this plant can actually hold — native adds a HP cushion, invasive an attack edge, neutral neither — with the card at its crossover and fully grown at Lv 100.