NAUGHTY WORDS FOR DANDELION
If you thought the etymology of Venus Flytrap was a tad ribald, you may be taken aback by the outright scatology once used in the service of the dandelion. Here are some names the common folk once used for the lowly yet endearing weed: pissabed, mare's fart, naked ladies, twitchbollock, hound's piss, open arse, bum towel.

The lofty heights of natural philosophy weren't much better: Apparently, even Linnaeus was given to employing off-color names (Clitoria, Fornicata, Vulva, etc). These were discreetly replaced over time (I smell a Victorian). The prudes missed the common limpet, though: Crepidula fornicata.

Oh yes: maidenhair fern isn't referring to the hair on the young lady's head.

One day I'll burn your eyes with the absolutely filthy, delightfully inventive names the Scots-irish gave the rivers in Appalachia. Hoo hoo!

(Source for dandelion nuggets: Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything)

~W