A historical or botanical term possibly referring to a plant with golden button-like flowers or seed heads, such as certain varieties of buttercup or similar species.
From 'golden' plus 'knop,' an archaic English word meaning 'knob' or 'button.' This older compound reflects how English speakers of past centuries named plants based on their appearance.
The word 'knop' is barely used anymore except in older texts and place names, but it shows how plant names encode what people actually saw when they looked at flowers!
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