Inhabitants of Plant

The Inhabitants of Plant are a diminutive humanoid race standing roughly three to four feet tall, with purple skin and distinctively ovular heads. They are the native population of Planet Plant, the same world that would eventually be conquered by the Saiyans and renamed Planet Vegeta. Their most remarkable cultural asset is a mystical healing liquid with restorative properties potent enough to attract the attention of interstellar pirates.

Despite their small stature, the Inhabitants of Plant built a peaceful civilization on their world. They are an omnivorous species who appear to live in modest village communities, led by local elders. Their society values cooperation and compassion, traits that would make them extremely vulnerable when the galaxy's more aggressive species came calling.

The Inhabitants of Plant came under threat when Chilled, an ancestor of Frieza, targeted their world in two waves of invasion, seeking to claim their healing liquid for himself. The fate of the race would have been sealed if not for an impossible intervention: Bardock, Goku's father, who had been sent back in time, arrived on Planet Plant and was nursed back to health by the villagers using the very healing liquid Chilled desired.

When Chilled's forces attacked, Bardock chose to defend the people who had saved him. His battle against Chilled climaxed in a moment of historic significance: Bardock's rage at witnessing the Plant inhabitants under attack triggered his transformation into a Super Saiyan, making him the legendary warrior whose myth would echo across Saiyan culture for generations. Chilled's invasion was repelled, and the Inhabitants of Plant were saved.

The most notable members of the Inhabitants of Plant include Ipana, the doctor who healed Bardock after finding him unconscious, and Berry, Ipana's young son who formed a bond with the displaced Saiyan warrior. The Plant Village Mayor also plays a role in welcoming Bardock into their community.

The deep irony of their story is impossible to miss. Bardock, a Saiyan, defended the Inhabitants of Plant from conquest. Yet in the normal timeline, it was the Saiyans themselves who eventually conquered Planet Plant, drove out or eliminated its original inhabitants, and renamed the world after their own king. The gentle people Bardock protected in the past were destined to lose their planet to his own race in the future.