Question: why does the latin name mean donkey fart thistle?

Scotch Thistle answered on 7 Nov 2017:

Scotch thistle was give this name because people used to believe that if donkeys at the plant they would fart a lot. Most latin names tell us something about the species, often based on old beliefs about the species. Some of these beliefs we know are true, so maybe scotch thistle does make donkeys fart – perhaps we could do a scientific study on this!