leprose, a. Bot.
(ˈlɛprəʊs)
[ad. L. leprōsus, f. lepra.]
Having a scaly or scurfy appearance; lepidote; esp. said of crustaceous lichens in which the thallus adheres to trees or stones like a scurf.
| 1856 W. L. Lindsay Pop. Hist. Lichens 34 Leprose species are also exceedingly common from our sea-coasts to our mountain summits. 1871 Leighton Lichen-flora 46 Thallus leprose or powdery, effuse or evanescent. |
¶ In pseudo-L. combining form leproso-, with the meaning ‘leprose and{ddd}’
| 1871 Leighton Lichen-flora 228 L[ecanora] erysibe..leproso-granulose, thin, diffract. Ibid. 258 Thin, effuse, leproso-pulverulent. |