Marsnip

The Marsnip is the second plant obtained in Red Sands. Marsnips are defensive plants with an elevated toughness that attack zombies in a 3x3 area, doing light damage.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Marsnip is a master surgeon by trade. Just the other day, he performed two receptomies, a carpellary bygrass and even a grain biopsy. Now Marsnip is looking forward to some easy days on the martian front lines with nothing on his schedule but mass zombie craniotomy. For Marsnip, this will be like a walk in the redsward as they say.

Plant Food
Repairs its 'armour' and grows a Marsnip in a + pattern similar to the Lily Pad. If there is another Marsnip occupying this space, it will be repaired to.

Strategies
Marsnips are good defence against early zombies while setting up your economy and proper defences, and growing grass tiles. This is because they do not have to be planted on grass so can be placed easily placed early on without any spatial concerns. The Shrink Ray Zombie is a potential threat to the Marsnip, as it can temporarily void both its attack and defence, allowing itself and other zombies through. That being said, unlike the Explorer Zombie, the Shrink Ray Zombie will not actually destroy the plant. Nonetheless, this can be prepared for by placing Marsnips in the adjacent lanes, as they can still attack zombies above and below, unless the Marsnips above and below are shrunken also.

Trivia

 * Marsnip is a portmanteau of 'Mars' and 'parsnip', hence why it can be planted on Martian soil.