Thistleshrub

From WoWWiki

A thistleshrub is a large plant^{MG 132} or plant elemental^{LoM 60} found in Tanaris. These elementals protect the Thistleshrub Valley - these are creatures of living vines, attacking anything that comes near.^{LoM 58}

It looks like a patch of cactus-like briars that shudders and then begins to move. It forms massive, gnarled arms covered in wicked thorns. A typical thistleshrub stands 12 feet high and 8 feet wide. They weigh 800 pounds. Thistleshrubs are exceptionally hardy ambulatory plants that meander about the desert seeking sources of water close to the surface. Mindless, they seek out other living creatures in order to drain liquids and minerals from their bodies.

Thistleshrubs often hide among normal plants, so that they appear to be nothing more than a few twisted brambles or vines. They absorb all moisture from the ground, holding it within their bodies in special dew glands. Because they take all nearby sources of moisture for themselves, thereby killing other plants, most consider them ecological menaces to be destroyed on sight. Even druids tend to have little compunction about putting down these destructive creatures.

Thistleshrubs immobilize any moving foe with roots, then move in and pound their prey to death. A thistleshrub always attacks the foe with the most fluid -- i.e, usually the largest one. They ignore constructs and creatures with no water content unless such creatures attack them first.^{MG 132}

Notes

• The plant creatures bog beast, timberlings, and conglomerate elemental creature tar beast, while using the same model as thistleshrubs are each treated as separate types of creatures.^{MG 131-134} However thistleshrub is like a subcategory of overall bog beast category.
• Brann calls them plant elementals.
• Other lore describes Thistleshrubs as large plants and makes no connection to them being elementals. They are not given elemental sub-type in their game stats in Monster Guide.
• They are listed as Elementals in World of Warcraft, while this may be a game mechanic, it is supported by lore.