My name is DuhSwag and I've been a jungle main since I started in Season 2. Despite the changes in the jungle since then I've been consistently jungling since. I was Silver elo in Season 2, and since then I've been hovering around Gold.

SHOUTOUTS TO THE BAE ; Sir Wh0re ♥ (THEY CENSORED HER NAME :c)

Will edit to add pictures/video soon if possible.
Send me results if you want! I'll post them here.

Pick Zyra into the jungle when your team needs an AP Jungler and already has a good initiation/tanks.
Zyra's ult Stranglethorns has huge teamfight potential and will completely destroy the enemy team if played with the right team composition and played correctly.

She is entirely a SITUATIONAL pick.

TLDR;
Only pick if team needs AP
Has Tank
Has Initiation

Pros Tanky High Damage output if played properly Has a lot of CC Can 1v1 in the jungle if counter-jungled Takes little damage if played correctly in the jungle Stranglethorns can and will win you games

Cons Very Slow Very weak early game Extremely squishy Needs Zhonya's Hourglass to survive Not a practical pick such as or

Runes on jungle Zyra are fairly flexible.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power is good for early game damage, otherwise you can grab per levels.

Greater Seal of Armor are definitely a must because you are jungling and need the armor.

Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration is good for jungling because the physical penetration will help you in the jungle and the magical penetration will help overall. You can also mix Greater Mark of Armor Penetration and Greater Mark of Magic Penetration as well.

Greater Glyph of Ability Power will help you early game damage and damage overall. It'll help you get ganks off early. You can add some Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power as well for a little bit more scalability.

Masteries are pretty straightforward.

You use 21/9/0 to maximize damage but still get some of that tankiness to help you survive a bit more being such a squishy character.

You will NOT be taking much damage from the jungle if you play properly. I will discuss this further in the guide.

Alright lets go into how to jungle properly with Zyra.

You are going to start with Deadly Bloom because it has a large range as well and a lower cooldown. You are still going to need a good leash from your laners to prevent taking massive damage.

You will then get Rampant Growth at level two. This is where you start taking a lot less damage. Put down your Rampant Growth x2 and then use Deadly Bloom on them to turn them into plants, put them as close to the BIG MINION as possible. You will tank the SMALL MINION to prevent damage to your plant. What you're going to want to do is let your plant tank the big minion is it's PER HIT, not how much damage the plant actually takes, and you tank the small ones. When your plant is 1 HP left you have the option to step up and tank the big minion so your plant will last it's maximum duration and continue doing damage.

Standard start : Hunter's Machete and Health Potion x4 , standard jungle start. Self-explanatory.

First Back : Spirit Stone and potions + wards if you cannot afford Spirit of the Spectral Wraith immediately.

After Spirit of the Spectral Wraith you will want to rush Zhonya's Hourglass because you are an EXTREMELY SQUISHY champion.

After Zhonya's Hourglass you have the option to build Rabadon's Deathcap if you are snowballing, if not go for Liandry's Torment and Rylai's Crystal Scepter.

Following those items a Void Staff is probably needed due to the enemy team building MR, if not it will still benefit you greatly.

The last item is completely situational defence, or Rabadon's Deathcap if you haven't already and you want more damage.

REMEMBER, Not every game is the same, so therefore you probably shouldn't always build the same. This item order is purely a suggestion for what you COULD build, but if there are better things to build in your situation then you should do what you need to win.

Start Deadly Bloom because you will need it for your first camp.

Then go into Rampant Growth for level 2 to be able to clear camps easier.

At level 3 go for Grasping Roots and prioritize that for CC and damage.

Your ult Stranglethorns will always be 1st Priority

Max Deadly Bloom after Grasping Roots and finally, max Rampant Growth LAST.

Your combo will effectively be
Grasping Roots > Rampant Growth x2 > Deadly Bloom > Stranglethorns

I prefer to use the plants that come from Deadly Bloom for teamfights because of RANGED ATTACKS. Although plants stemming from Grasping Roots SLOW the enemy but have a short range. The plant you will use is purely situation and to personal preference.

You will be crucial in teamfights due to your Stranglethorns being able to change the tide of a teammfight COMPLETELY.

Zyra is a VERY squishy character so be careful about your positioning.

You will do massive damage with your plants and your spells throughout the fight due to Zyra having a high damage output along with Liandry's Torment's passive stacking.

She will also have a very high chance of catching people out using Grasping Roots because it is a long ranged snare.

You can also utilize your plants to poke out an enemy team if they're clueless enough.

This is purely a build for FUN.

Although it completely viable for Ranked Play, (In my opinion), and can be played in Ranked.
To your own discretion you MAY play this in Ranked but please do not use this build unless you are confident in your abilities to play Zyra in the jungle spot and make it clear to your temamates what you intend to do.

-Published on 08/24/2014 10:55 PM Central.
-Edited on 08/25/2014 - Changed masteries, added some information in "Teamwork" and added "Core" build.