adj. Describing an arrangement of leaves such that distal (anterior) parts of older leaves overlap the proximal (posterior) parts of younger ones.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
adj. Having the leaves so placed that the upper part of each one covers the base of the leaf next above it, as in hepatic mosses of the genus Frullania. See succubous.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
In botany, imbricate in such a manner that the apex of a leaf lies on the base of the next one above, as in the Jungermanniaceæ.