This is one of the official guidelines listed right beside the text box on the common name entry page:
- Don’t add duplicate names, e.g. don’t name numerous hawks “hawk”
Yes, “hawk” is a common name used for Buteo jamaicensis. But that’s not because it’s the specific common name of Buteo jamaicensis but because it’s a generic common name that applies to many members of Accipitridae. Presumably those plant names should be applied at genus (or an intermediate level) instead.
Without having actually read through the list of names in much detail myself, I thought @JeremyHussell made a pretty convincing argument for it being a poor quality source of common names (i.e. it doesn’t serve the function we want in terms of vetting them). His list of issues is basically a checklist of “what not to do when making your own common names”, which to me seems fairly predictable for an effort by a relatively small group of people to come up with names for literally every species in an entire country. You need to have both expertise and creativity to do it well. Field guides often hit this issue when they try to come up with new names in an attempt to adopt the authors’ favourite group of invertebrates into the “canon of charismatic creatures”. Dragonflies worked pretty well, hover flies were more of a stretch. There are just too many insects and they’re too similar to each other.