'spotted-leaved' is a compound formed in modern English from 'spotted' (the past participle of 'spot') + 'leaved' (adjectival form of 'leaf'), where 'spotted' denotes 'marked with spots' and 'leaved' denotes 'having leaves'.

'spotted' derives from the verb 'spot' (Middle English 'spotte'), which developed into the modern verb 'spot' and its past participle 'spotted'; 'leaved' comes from Old English 'lǣf' (modern 'leaf'), which passed through Middle English into the modern form 'leaf' and its adjective-forming suffix '-ed'.

Initially the components separately meant 'a mark' (spot) and 'leaf'; over time they combined into the descriptive compound meaning 'having leaves that bear spots', a straightforward compositional meaning that has remained stable.