I've heard a lot of people on the forums talking about how they would be interested in plant race, so I decided to make one. While they aren't actually plants, they have a close tie to the forest. Any feedback on the lore, balance, or mechanics is appreciated.

It's not bad unless you're in a campaign without plants, but Child of the Forest seems a little bit overpowered and needs the wording for the speak with plants ability changed to something like "In addition, you know the speak with plants spell and cast it number of times equal to your proficiency bonus without expending a spell slot. You regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell." 

Quote from Halfastbracegirdle >>

It's not bad unless you're in a campaign without plants, but Child of the Forest seems a little bit overpowered and needs the wording for the speak with plants ability changed to something like "In addition, you know the speak with plants spell and cast it number of times equal to your proficiency bonus without expending a spell slot. You regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell." 

 Thanks! I changed it match your wording.

Quote from Thauraeln_The_Bold >>

I've heard a lot of people on the forums talking about how they would be interested in plant race, so I decided to make one. While they aren't actually plants, they have a close tie to the forest. Any feedback on the lore, balance, or mechanics is appreciated.

Valashae Race Details

Valashae appear as humanoid figures made of rough bark, with sprouts of leaves and flowers forming hair and other body parts. Instead of normal reproduction, valashae come into being when a forest is threatened. The collective consciousness of the forest breathes life into a valashae, forming it into a being as alive and sentient as any other. While most valashae spend their lives protecting the wild, others take up the path of an adventurer or simply seek out the numerous pleasures of existence.

Naturally Curious

To a valashae, everything about life is foreign. They have no parents to teach them the ways of the world. All they learn is through trial and error, so the first things that a valashae attempts or sees in life often have a large affect on their personalities. 

But even though valashae know almost nothing when they come into being, they have an innate knowledge of their forest that surpasses normal senses. They know and understand every nook and cranny of their woods, and this apprehension allows them to navigate and tame other aspects of nature as well, due to their instinctive inquisitiveness.

Life Flourishes

Valashae view life as nothing if it is not lived to the fullest. One can never truly know all the forests in the world, but it is better to know your own perfectly than all partially. Still, many valashae reject this concept- why not see as much as you can before you pass on.

However, almost all valashae agree that life is to be respected and appreciated while it still can. Life is a wondrous thing, and it should not be left to struggle alone. A dying sapling must be aided in its growth so that it will one day be thick and old, and its roots will have grown deep with knowledge. And it will share that knowledge with its children, and with the children of the forest.

Treeborn

While valashae are rare, they do occasionally meet others of their kind. When they do, the valashae often share their observations with one another, each seeking to learn more about the world they live in. Valashae also treat the trees as their kin, and might call a particularly stout or tall tree by an epithet or compose poetry in its praise.

While other humanoids that travel alongside a valashae might think them insane or simply weird, valashae feel a connection to the trees. If they exert their will hard enough, a valashae can speak to the plants around them, learning from them and even persuading them to move subtly.

Valashae Names

Since valashae don't have parents, they often choose to name themselves after a type of plant that they particularly enjoy. While valashae don't have a set gender, they might take to choosing one or the other after spending time among other races. Sometimes, a valashae's traveling companions will give it a nickname that it likes, in which case it will adopt the nickname as its new name.

Names: Anemone, Aster, Eremurus, Forsythia, Hawthorn, Larch, Lumber, Oleander, Paulownia, Roots, Snapdragon, Sprouty, Terebinth, Willow, Zinnia

Valashae Traits

Valashae share a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age

Valashae are long lived, like the trees they originate from. They reach maturity at around forty years and can live for up to three centuries.

Alignment

Valashae have a clear sense of duty to the wild, but also a natural curiosity that often ignores rules and boundaries, pushing them towards neutrality. Their overall love of life often pushes them to good alignments, but not always.

Size

Valashae can range anywhere from 5 to 7 feet tall and usually weigh between 200 and 320 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

One with the Wild

You have proficiency in the Nature skill. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that use this proficiency.
You can give it expertise as nature is a not often used skill and it would actually make sense.

Nature's Blessing

You can rejuvenate yourself by coming in sync with the natural world around you. As an action, you can touch a tree or other plant life and regain hit points equal to 1d6 x your proficiency bonus. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

May I suggest the ability below. No need to limit it as you only have a limited number of the number of hit dice your character has and you do suffer from no movement. 
Revitalizing Roots
As a bonus action you can spend a Hit Die, roll it, and regain a number of hit points equal to the roll plus your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hit point). You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.

Child of the Forest

Your connection with the wilderness grants you the resilience of the trees, as well as the ability to speak with plants. You have resistance to your choice of nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. In addition, you know the speak with plants spell and cast it number of times equal to your proficiency bonus without expending a spell slot. You regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Too powerful, you gave it a barbarian ability or a high-level subclass ability. This makes it broken.

I suggest this:
Resilient Skin
Your skin is tough as most plants and tress can be. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 12 + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Child of the Forest
You have the ability to cast the Speak with Plants and Speak with Animals spells, but only as rituals.

 

 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.