You can work your way through German plant names very well, but the dandelion was beyond my imagination.
In some cases there is no correct translation at all ...
Butter flower, butter plug, common lion's tooth, dog flower, chain herb, cow flower, lantern flower, lion's tooth, May cane, milk cane, monk's flower, puff flower, cream cane, seed flower, lard lead, meadow lettuce
Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia (botanical, Latin)
In German ...
Butterblume, Butterstecker, Gewöhnlicher Löwenzahn, Hundeblume, Kettenkraut, Kuhblume, Laternenblume, Löwenzahn, Maistock, Milchstock, Mönchsblume, Pusteblume, Rahmstock, Saublume, Schmalzbleaml, Wiesenlattich
Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia
One plant and 16 names for it + one botanical
There is a plausible explanation for the dandelion (german: lion's tooth): the lower petals are reminiscent of a lion's teeth. Okay, okay, I'll just leave it at that. Although "plausible" ??!?? The person who came up with this has never seen a real lion or the cat's teeth ... oh well, never mind.
The name butter flower makes things a little more confusing, because there is also a butter flower that is colloquially called butter fower, but has nothing in common with the dog or lion, or even with the monk.
This is where the German diversity comes into play, every area, every "Depp" (not Johnny) calls the thing differently ... it depends on the season. That doesn't explain the 16 names, because there are only twelve months and four seasons, but it does make it a bit clearer, especially as Germany has 16 federal states. The dandelion is actually always the dandelion that develops a little ball (as in the photo) after flowering, you can blow on it and the ball splits into its individual parts.
A word about "Depp", as I said it has nothing to do with the actor, although he has German roots as well as Irish and Indian. In German, the word Depp means "simple-minded, clumsy person, fool". I wonder if Johnny knows that? 🤔
But what do the dog, the sow and the monk have to do with it? What name do you give this yellow flower? ... and, above all, why? The why concerns the colloquial names.
In the Latin or botanical language it is more consistent and clearer... One name and that's it.
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