I was thinking about translating 'mal' to 'evil', as a non-native speaker for both languages.

For me, 'evil' seems to have a source and religious undertones. Evil can be stopped by adressing that source. People can avoid it. 'Flowers of evil' are probably given to you by the devil, and you've made a bad choice.

'Mal' is much more passive. It seeps into the world, slowly. It can't be avoided or adressed, only be felt, experienced. I'd translate it closer to 'badness'. The 'flowers of bad' are something you find in your room, and they'll stay there, with you, forever.

I don't even know if this is right, but funny how an attempt to translate shifts the meaning so much for me.