'scattered-flowering' is a modern English compound formed from 'scattered' (the past participle of 'scatter') and 'flowering' (the present participle of 'flower').

'scatter' developed in Middle English from verbs meaning 'to disperse' (ultimately from Germanic roots), while 'flower' entered English from Old French 'flor/flour', from Latin 'flos'. The compound itself is formed by combining these established participial forms in modern botanical or descriptive English.

Originally the components referred separately to 'being dispersed' and 'producing flowers'; combined as a compound they describe the pattern of flowering (i.e., flowers distributed sparsely or irregularly) and retain that descriptive meaning.