'dappled-leafed' is a modern English compound formed from the past-participle adjective 'dappled' (from 'dapple') and 'leafed' (from 'leaf'), where 'dappled' meant 'marked with spots' and 'leafed' means 'having leaves'.

'dappled' came from Middle English (e.g. 'dappel'/'dapple') meaning 'variegated' and developed into the adjective 'dappled' by addition of -ed; 'leafed' derives from Old English 'lēaf' ('leaf') with the adjectival/participle suffix -ed; these elements were combined in modern English to form descriptive compounds such as 'dappled-leafed'.

Initially the components meant 'marked with spots' ('dappled') and 'having leaves' ('leafed'); together they have kept that literal descriptive sense and now specifically describe leaves that are spotted or variegated.