'lanatus' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'lānātus', where 'lana' meant 'wool' and the suffix '-ātus' meant 'provided with' or 'having'.

'lanatus' existed in Classical Latin as an adjective formed from 'lana' + '-ātus' and passed into Medieval and Modern Latin; it was adopted unchanged into botanical Latin and is used today as a species epithet in scientific names.

Initially it meant 'woolly' in Latin; over time the basic meaning has been retained and is preserved in modern botanical usage to mean 'covered with woolly hairs'.