Plant Youkai

Description
Plant youkai are plants have evolved to varying degrees and gained sentience. This can range anywhere from normal plants that are capable of higher thought, to plants that have gained many animal-like features, such as skeletal and muscle structures and animal organs like a brain, lung(s), and more complex digestive system. The latter are known as Evolved Plant Youkai. Like normal youkai, plant youkai have extended lifespans and can live far longer then an average plant, some of which (like trees) are already quite long-lived. Most plant youkai inherently have the ability to grow and control other plants like it.

True Plant Youkai
True Plant Youkai are simply regular plants that have gained youkai powers. They have sentience, able to sense people around them. The powers of these youkai vary. They may possibly have telepathic powers that allow them to speak with others, or have other powers that affect the minds of others. Some can move around a bit, such as trees being able to shake their branches, or carnivorous plants being able to lash out and eat a man, but are otherwise usually stationary, as plants tend to be. True Plant Youkai can grow far, far larger then regular plants of the same type.

Evolved Plant Youkai
Evolved Plant Youkai are far more advanced then True Plants, although not necessarily more powerful. Evolved Plant Youkai have taken on features of animals and humans, and are a hybrid of sorts of plant and animal. Many have developed mouths and air sacs to be able to speak to others normally. They can get sustenance through both photosynthesis and by eating, and are usually carnivores. Highly evolved ones, such as Azami Zatsusei have taken on a highly human-like form, although tend to be lacking in vital human functions like a circulatory system. These types are very rare.

Origin
Plants usually become youkai as a result of consuming human blood or flesh in some way, usually by taking blood through the roots. Sufficiently powerful true plant youkai can drain the souls of humans as well, and evolved plants are capable of eating humans and animals. Some are created through other means, such as through age or magic, but this is mostly unheard of. Some elder plants become gods, but these aren't the same as youkai.

True Plants
Saigyou Ayakashi

Evolved Plants
Azami Zatsusei